Change
by Senyor Fier Mensheir
Summary: Having suffered in his first life, Harry Potter is given the chance to start and live a new one, one where he is the one in charge of his destiny. He is thrust into a world unlike his own, along with responsibilities that he willingly takes on.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer (1): This is a fan written work based on the works of J.K. Rowling. It might possibly also have some elements of a number of other works. There is no money being made from this, it is merely a work meant for the entertainment of myself and the masses. This is merely for fun, and no profit. I repeat: I am not making any money out of writing this.

Disclaimer (2): I also do not own anything that has to do with Juuni Kokki, Juuni Kokuki, Record of the Twelve Kingdoms, The Twelve Kingdoms. The only things that will probably be mine to claim are some of the names that will appear in the fic.

Warning: OCs OOCs Sues, and some crack. You have been warned.

Note 1: Post-DH Crossover.

*****

*****

**CHANGE**

*****

**Chapter One**

*****

*****

It had been over for little more than a year already, lives moved on after one of the biggest tradgedies that could have ever happened to the country, or to the world in some cases, specifically the magical world as most knew of it, those parts of the world that were considered as known as it was. The conflict was long and fierce, many lives were lost, just as many were equally saved. Decades long conflicts, with a decade long repreive before the chaos began anew. There had been many heroes, many tales had been spun, the history of the world had once again witnessed an epic adventure, the likes of which only few could ever hope to attain, but of those few only a handful would wish to experience the whole of it, and fewer still would be able to tell the tale.

There also many instances of betrayal, and one person above all had been hit, hit harder than any other, after having saved the world as many knew it, or thought of it, that one person was shoved into the depths of hell. One after other betrayers popped out of the snow like daisies, many of whom could have been counted among those that that one person considered as pillars of strength and sanity. It was revealed after the great darkness' demise that he had simply been used by many in his society, by many in his sanctuary for their own gains. He had been used, and abused, and when he expected to finally be praised, to finally be accepted, not only was he shunned, but was also punished for things beyond his control. He may have been allowed to keep his freedom, of what little use it did for him, he may have been allowed to keep what earthly trappings his blood allowed him, of what little use they were in helping his life become better than the hell he had been shoved into once his purpose to those putrid scums of the earth were through with him. Many thought that his treatment was just, many thought that it was perfect punishment for the one that had inadvertently brought suffering, and death on many of the world in which they lived in and were aware of.

He could count on no one to hold his hand, in times of need, as was what each waking moment of his life had been once the betrayers began showing their true colors. He was limited to himself, and probably the higher powers that governed the worlds, there was no one else that dared to even show him some manner of kindness, for what reward would there be awaiting anyone that would dare associate themselves with a useless tool, one that was no longer needed by the society. The only people that would have probably been brave or selfless enough to care were already six feet below the ground, forever to be unable to comfort the lost soul in a world that shunned him for not only who he was, but for also what he was. He was a freak, a freak among the freaks in the world.

Many of those that he thought he had lost only played dead to give him false strength to fulfil his purpose, many of those people he had loved like family, considered as members of his family. His true family had either died protecting him, or lived hating him. His second family, one that he had thought had been formed and would continue to be there out of love and compassion had quickly dissolved once he became useless to them.

Even those that had seemed to worship the ground he walked on had only been using him, but once his usefulness had served its purpose, he had been discarded for new heroes, ones that were allowed the power to do as they pleased, with limited repercussions. Other races cared not for him, whether or not he was a valued customer, others cared not for him due to beliefs that he would bring ruin to their races should he be associated with them. Of course there were a few people that looked down at him with pity, but refused to act out of fear of what others would think of them. In a way they too shunned him.

No one had truly bothered to care about him, to see him for his true self, to view him as just another being. When all his previous shells in existence no longer needed to be kept in place, new ones were applied, all of which made his situation worse. He was a nobody in a world where he believed he belonged, and he was a ghost in a world where he thought that he could belong, only for the fact that his existence from that other world had ceased to exist after he turned eleven.

His life had lost its worth ever since his parents had died to protect him, to ensure that he had a future, but what future did he have? One of suffering that's what.

After he defeated the bane of many, one of those that he had looked up to, had admired, had even worshipped in a way, had revealed himself to be alive. Stating that he had forcibly faked his death to make sure that the monster that had terrorized their world was defeated as fast as possible. The man had explained to their world how the shunned one had simply been a means to an end. Albus Dumbledore was in fact alive and well, and as strong as ever. He had shared with the world the prophecy, as well as the purpose for keeping a close watch on one Harry Potter.

Harry Potter had always been a tool, a weapon, he had always been used. It was proven as such when one of the few beings that he thought of as a reliable friend revealed himself to be a manipulator himself, small eccentric Dobby had conspired with Lucius Malfoy and Albus Dumbledore, feigning abuse, to be able to gain the sympathies of the weapon of the magical world against one that magic herself had deemed to be only riddable by one means. Dobby had conspired with his former Master and Dumbledore, in exchange for freedom, he would set up Harry Potter, give him some means of practicing his saving the world bit. Then when all was said and done, the free elf could go through a ritual that would return him to being a true elf, one not bound in sevitude to a human master, but one bound to the laws of true elves. Winky had the same package offered to her, only that it was offered after she had been sacked by her previous master. What Lucius got out of the deal was immunity from persecution for any criminal acts he would do in the future, of course he wouldn't do them in such a way that his good image would be ruined.

Ginevra Weasley had been paid from the moment that Harry Potter's letter had been sent to him. She was to provide ego boosting, as well as false emotional support, just in case the power that the dark lord knew not really was the absurd concept of love. Harry needed to know some form of it, and the girl had played her part splendidly well. When all was said and done, Harry had to pay her with some of his own money, not enough to make a dent in his savings, but enough to really make him see what kind of person the girl really was. The sizeable sum of money was in compensation for what she had been made to do, which according to many was sacrifice her happiness for the sake of everyone, the only person that had yet to thank her was Harry himself. Being the overly selfless person that he was he readily handed over the funds to the girl, in the hope that someone would praise him, but he knew deep down inside that no one would actually do that, no one alive, and mortal in any case.

Harry Potter had quite a high IQ, but unfortunately for him, there were those whose scheming and planning ability outstripped him, Dumbledore had planned for many an outcome, and many a situation, seemingly planned out Harry's life up until the moment that the dark lord had been slain. Harry was not permitted to make use and further his latent intellect, even his physical growth had been stunted. In all the ways that mattered Harry Potter had been forced to become incredibly ignorant. In his years before his introduction to the magical world his education had been sabotaged, not only by his relatives, but also subtlely by Dumbledore.

When he had finally been introduced and firmly been integrated into magical society, his life had been controlled by the master manipulator himself from the get go. Rubeus Hagrid had been the first pawn, he was the first person to show Harry some manner of kindness, but hidden beneath the facade, the half-giant hid a burning hatred for the lad, one that stemmed from some lies that were told to him by the one man hat he worshipped as a god. False kindness made Harry believe that there was a world worth liking, and in the future one that he would be willing to fight and die for.

The second form of control was when Hagrid had not provided Harry with instructions on how to get to the platform where the train to the school could be found. Dumbledore had the Weasley family intercept the youth, and be a shining beacon of hope on a possible future that could await the youth in his future, one that was not meant to be. Another kindness, one that would make Harry believe that there were people in the world worth protecting. Ronald Weasley was tasked with befriending the young Harry Potter, once he had obtained the friendship he would make sure that Harry did not do well in his classes, only managing to do only good enough to pass. Ronald was made to make sure that Harry would have to rely on others to make decisions for him, but was allowed to make minor decisions, ones that would not affect his life too much. Ronald was also tasked with the challenge of making Harry believe that he needed to be good and do what was perceived to be right all the time, lest he lose what little he had. Ronald's constant leaving him be whenever something wrong happened was how such a feat was a achieved.

Hermione Granger on the other hand had been assigned the task of thinking for Harry, making decisions for him, as well as moving him in Dumbledore's desired directions. She was in truth not a Muggleborm, in truth she was pureblooded, but her surname had been changed for her to be able to befriend Harry. Hermione was also Dumbledore's pet protege, and apprentice, therefore was given the task of refining her manipulation methods using Harry as her lab rat.

Another control that was put in place while Harry was in Hogwarts was Slytherin House, whose members that were children of Death Eaters were made to play the villain. Their parents wanting to be rid of the half-blooded tyrant that dared to enslave them with his mark and magic. Even though they would then be indebted to Dumbledore, they did not mind, better to be 'servants' to another pureblood rather than to a halfblood.

Dumbledore's power and manipulations reached far and wide, he had been able to establish himself as a god among men, and had also been grooming the perfect replacement for him once he moved on to conquer the next great adventure. He had assumed that once Grindelwald joined that great adventure he would pave the way for Dumbledore to rule it.

Two more people that served send Harry spiralling into a world of hell, were Remus Lupin and Sirius Black, Sirius not having died from falling into the veil, he had not even really been imprisoned, it had all been a tall tale that had been spun to be used in the manipulation of one Harry Potter. Remus and Sirius were gung ho, they were all for fooling the son of their deceased friend. They both blamed Harry for the death of James, and they both also hated Lily Potter for stealing their friend away from them. Having learned of the prophecy from Dumbledore, Remus made sure that he looked suspicious so as not to be made the secret keeper. Sirius thought that by having Peter be secret keeper, the dark lord would rid the world of Lily Potter, and spare James as he was a pureblooded wizard. But unfortunately he did not count on James actually loving Lily and his son. James died protecting his son, and both Sirius and Remus blamed the survivor for the loss of their friend. The only people that had apparently actually cared for Lily were either dead, namely James and Severus, or in the Cruciatus ward of St. Mungo's.

Nympandora Lupin nee Tonks, couldn't care much for the well being of Harry Potter, she was too in love with her husband to care, and she also had that son of hers to look after, to her Harry was old enough to look after himself. If he was stupid enough to save an ungrateful world, then he could take care of himself alone.

Normally people believed that Fred and George Weasley would side with, and aid their secret backer, but in truth Dumbledore had been able to get it into the minds of the twins, that it would be beneficial to their future pranking careers to make friends with Harry Potter, everyone needs a good laugh, laugher can make the world a better place, and if Harry believed that, then the twins would be on their way to making some money, while at the same time making Harry Potter want to protect the magical world all the more.

All those people that supposedly lost their lives in the fight for salvation, in the fight against the dark, were only meant to spur Harry on, onward to the goal of finally ridding the world of a monster. None of the people that did not care for Harry lost their lives, but all of those that cared for Harry had lost theirs, all of them viewed as fools. Their names, and contributions to the world forgotten the moment their heart beats stopped, and they were truly dead.

For every innocent life lost, Harry was blamed even more, hated by even more people. He was allowed to live, and do as he pleased, as well as keep all that was his, as payment for doing as Dumbledore had planned for him to do. That was all he got, material wealth, and freedom, nothing more from the world he had saved. He had no support, not even his beloved owl remained to aid and provide emotional support for him, as the snowy owl was apparently just an animated doll brought to life by Dumbledore. Once Dumbledore had no more use for Harry, he had taken the magic out of the animated doll, and burned the thing before the young man's eyes.

Harry had everything he needed to get anything he wanted, save for the things that money could not buy, and would have to come from someone else, freely.

After being betrayed by the world that he had so strongly protected, Harry went into a downward spiral of depression, growing even more unhealthy than he had ever been in his life, losing the will to live, but something in the world was somehow for some reason keeping him alive, as if he had some other purpose, and not simply for the survival of an ungrateful group of people. Even though he was depressed, he would have some dreams of someone constantly urging him to make his life a little bit better, one step at a time, for who else would be able to change his fortune than he, Harry, himself.

Through the course of a year Harry was somehow able to undo all the things that had been done to him in his life, including his ignorance, and total selflessness, being selfless was a good thing to be, but not to the extent that Harry had been brought up and trained to being.

The voice that spoke to him in his dreams was filled with an ancient wisdom, it sounded like the voice of a real teacher, one that truly cared for the student. Even if the voice was only in his dreams, Harry clung to it, as it was his only reason for living, nothing else, but he only vaguely remembered the voice during his waking hours, but what things were being crammed into his head he remembered during the day.

But some nights the voice changed, changed into the voice of different beings, not always the same, but each one sounding as if they geniunely cared for him, and he clung even to those. None of them were overnight cures for all the bad things that had happened to him in his life, but they did help him on a day to day basis. Within the span of a little over a year, he had managed to get back his courage, confidence, cunning, and all the other things that he had either lost along the way, or had been taken from him, save for his relationships with people in general. All he had were the voices in his dreams, voices of people or beings that for the life of him, he believed that he had never met, but at the same time sounded so familiar to him.

He many not have been able to fully escape to the Muggle world, but the had been able to get himself a job there, one that did not need any educational attainment, simply the drive and determination to do absolutely anything, and Harry for some reason was willing to do anything, to push the limits that he had placed on himself knowingly and unknowingly. To break and completely sever the bonds to the past he worked, and did nearly everything, from garbage collecting to rescuing kittens from tress without the aid of magic to being a laborer at a construction site. Some of his employers even believed that they had hit the jackpot when they hired him as he even accepted jobs that required him to do things that most men would shy at performing, like taking care of children, sewing, and other such things reserved for women and children to do. As long as it was a job, a way to better himself, he did it.

Due to his constant working, sometimes going for more than eight hours of work, his social skills had increased exponentially, he knew how to properly communicate, and live amongst others, unlike before when things were more or less orchestrated for him, or even scripted to a degree. He was forced to learn how to properly live with real people, not fakers that needed him for their selfish gains.

He didn't make any new friends, rather he made acquaintances, nothing more. Even though he looked unhealthy and not in tip top shape, people noticed that there were some things that no normal person would be able to do on a regular basis, especially with a build like his. It was as if his true self was hidden under an illusion and that he was oblivious of this fact.

He paid the rumors of his supposed strength and the like no mind, he simply accepted that he would forever be different, not that being different minded him anymore, it used to back during the days when he cared to really care, but no longer was he such.

But one day his fortunes changed. As he entered his apartment, he chose to stay at a rented apartment rather than one of his properties, as he flipped the light switch the lights would not turn on. Thinking that possibly his power was cut, he went for his flashlight which he kept on a table by the door. That too did not work. He then reached for a match and candle of all things from the drawer of the table by the door, but before he could light the match, he heard something that he thought he would never hear during his waking hours.

"I think its about time you were granted that life you've been denied..." a voice that he thought he would forever hear in his dreams said, "Yes...looks about the right time..."

Before Harry could say anything to the owner of the voice, another one spoke up from within the darkness.

"We apologize for not being there for you when you truly needed us," the second voice, one that was also familiar to Harry, said, "We were not permitted to interfere, such is the power of certain prophecies and magicks."

"Even I was unable to overturn such a proclamation," a third voice chimed in, the voice being the one that had spurred Harry into learning more about magick and all its mysteries, or at least as much as he could within the span of a year, which considering how much he had learned was quite a feat.

"Now that we have finally been allowed to interfere with the flow of your destiny, we have come to offer you a choice," anoher voice joined in, "You may speak now."

"Y-you..are the voices in my d-dreams...?" Harry said in fright fearing for, to him, his frail sanity.

"Yes, we be, but that be the only way that we been permitted to contact you," one of the voices said, specifically the teacher sounding one, "Call it advanced telepathy if you will."

"So...so what is this choice that you spoke of?" Harry asked the voices in the darkness of his apartment.

"The choice be a chance at a better life, one where you be in control of your destiny, against continuing as you be, with us helping you better yourself in your dreams, versus simply giving up and joining your loved ones," the teacher voice said.

"We'll give.." the voice was interrupted by Harry's decision.

"I choose the first option," Harry said with as much conviction as he could muster.

"What reason have you for choosing such a decision, it is a life changing one you know," the teacher asked.

"I don't like how my life has been lived so far, I want to live a life where I decide what happens to me day to day, preferably away from that which binds me to my past," Harry said.

"And the last option?" one of the voices asked.

"I don't think those that loved me would want me to give up simply because I was offered a way out, the coward's way out," Harry said.

"Then it is decided," the teacher said, "If that is truly your choice, then gather all your belongings, ALL your belongings, except for properties, for those are likely the only things that you will not be able to bring to where you will be going."

"Also," continued another voice, "You are to make your way to China, we will meet you there in person."

"We hope to see you there," all the voices said at the same time.

"W-wait!" Harry called out.

"What is it?" one of the voices asked.

"Where in China?" Harry asked.

"Zijin Cheng," one of the voices answered.

"Where's that?" Harry asked.

"Figure it out yourself," the teacher voice said, "You have a brain, use it!"


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer (1): This is a fan written work based on the works of J.K. Rowling. It might possibly also have some elements of a number of other works. There is no money being made from this, it is merely a work meant for the entertainment of myself and the masses. This is merely for fun, and no profit. I repeat: I am not making any money out of writing this.

Disclaimer (2): I also do not own anything that has to do with Juuni Kokki, Juuni Kokuki, Record of the Twelve Kingdoms, The Twelve Kingdoms. The only things that will probably be mine to claim are some of the names that will appear in the fic.

Warning: OCs OOCs Sues, and some crack. You have been warned.

Note 1: Post-DH Disclaimer (2) anime/novel Crossover

*****

*****

**CHANGE**

*****

**Chapter Two**

*****

*****

The voices had coincided their visit with the end of all of Harry's work contracts, all of which would have to be renewed if he wanted to continue his old jobs, but since he didn't he didn't bother, but he did inform all of his former employers that he would be leaving in search of a new and better life.

One thing that he had not been permitted to keep were his wands, his phoenix feather cored one was snapped, as people believed that leaving him with it would possibly tempt the young man into pursuing a darker path, seeing as the people believed that he must have studied a lot of dark arts for him to have been able to put down the mad dog known as Lord Voldemort. His other wand, the one which he had gained ownership of from defeating in a way its previous master, was taken from him the moment it was made known that the Elder Wand was Dumbledore's wand. The powerful wand was handed over to he whom the people believed to be its rightful owner.

Having his only means of using his magic snatched away from him by ignorant individuals was another reason for his descent into hell. Magic was one of the few things in life that, aside from the voices in his dreams, kept him moving on, forced him to keep living. Magic was like a drug, once one experienced its effects there was no way that one would easily accept that it was no longer attainable. The voices helped him in gaining the ability to freely use magic without the need for mediums, no need for words, simply the use of his imagination. For the true limits of magic were those that one placed on one's own mind. Science could only go so far in explaining things, which was the reason why even scientists had religions. Faith, belief, and the like begins when science ends, when the explanations end. Magic was like that, it really just required belief. There are things in the world which people believed in, but could not really explain why. That's what magic really was, no matter what things were taught in the magical institutions of the world, any one could perform magic.

Harry, through much trial and error, had managed to get a firm grip on his magic. Accidental magic when one was a child were caused by emotions most of the time, but some were caused by some subconscious thought. Through trial and error it was found out that Harry could tap into his powers and use them at will, will and belief was all that he needed to perform such a feat as wandless magic, for that was what accidental magic was. Accidental magic was the somewhat uncontrolled usage of magic.

During his little over a year of depression, evolution, and living mostly in the Muggle world, Harry had encountered a slew of comics, among the dozens upon dozens of comics that he came across there were three that caught his attention the most, namely the Archie comics, Batman, and the X-men. The Archie comics caught his interest due to it being a collection of stories about what school life should really be like, with a bit of _fantasy_ in it presented by Dilton Doiley and his many scientific wonders. Compared to the adventures of Archie and the gang, Harry's school life's adventures were more for a fantasy novel set of literary works as compared to something that really should have happened to a teenager. Harry wished that his life were something like those of the Archie characters, normal with some minor adventures every now and then.

Then there was Batman, as much as Harry disliked his world and his past life, there were just some things in it that he found fascinating, not counting magic, he had been diagnosed with having a saving people-thing, something which he could relate to with Batman, or rather Bruce Wayne. Bruce had hadan early childhood, but all that was taken from him, then later on in life he felt a call, one to become the reason why criminals would fear the night, and innocents would feel safer at that time. They both had a people saving thing, no matter who it was, the Batman refused to intentionally kill, Harry was forced into the role of murderer so that didn't really count for much in his book. Had Harry been given a choice in his playing the hero, he would have wanted to do it Batman style, hidden identity, split personality, and all that. Bruce Wayne was seen as a rich philanthropist, a womanizer even, deep down inside Harry wanted that too in a way, an unknown, someone not really all that important to many people, just some rich regular joe.

Lastly were the X-men, for all intents and purposes, they were the most looked down upon and misunderstood of all the heroes in the Marvel universes. Just because they were different they were treated differently from the other human beings. They were people too, just with a few differences, unique qualities or attributes that separated them from the normal people. Harry was like the X-men in that he had his parselmouth ability, he could talk to snakes, it was a special ability that only a few people had the privelage had, and one that he had been scorned for. The X-men and their abilities were very similar to some of the other abilities found in the magical people of Earth. Shapeshifting, and whatever else there is. The powers of the X-men and not just their treatment is what caught Harry's interest, since he had by that time already started his new studies in the use of his powers, he decided that if all it took was belief that what was stopping him from emulating the powers of the mutants of the Marvel universe.

The Archie comics symbolized Harry's want for a normal life, one that he would probably never really get to achieve, Batman was an ideal, one of something that he wished he could have become instead of what he had become. While the X-men he saw as kindred spiris, as well as inspiration for his future, ability-wise as he had already experienced some of their hardships.

Subconsciously Harry's desires, hopes, and dreams, were slowly shaping his very being, even though he looked weak on the outside, even though he looked as if he were a nothing, a stain on the earth, even though his exterior exuded nothing but patheticness, his interior, that which was hidden beneath his outer shell kept changing, his magic providing the fuel for the gradual change. It was why he was able to do things that normal people would be unable to shrug at. Harry was unaware that through his little over a year, he had been undergoing a transformation. From what he had become, to what he could, should, and had the potential to being.

He did not know it, but his mental faculties had been forced into using more than the original allotment of ten percent for a regular human being. His magic, and the voices in his head had pushed his mental limits to beyond that which he had settled for. The reason why man is the most dangerous of all creatures in existence is due to the endlessly unknown possibilities and potential that man holds. Harry was born to be the equal in all things to Lord Voldemort, which included potential. The dark lord had the potential of becoming an immortal, a true one, one that would live forever, one that also had the power to gain limitless power, and to possibly rival the gods and other higher powers themselves. Harry also had that potential, a potential which the voices and his subconscious gradually exploited and made real.

Harry intellect and IQ soared, which was one of the reasons why, after working part time at a public library as a janitor, he had been able to consume book after book, not only memorizing the knowledge held within, but also understand all that was contained in the knowledge. He was a favorite of the librarians and professors that visited the libray as he was able to have conversations with them about any topic, and those that he was unable to, he would find the books that would enable him to converse and debate about such topics while he was working and on break. It was partly due to the fact that being able to interact with another human being at an intellectual level, and in some small way being praised, made him happy, and enjoy his day to day hell, a little bit.

In the Magical world he was Public Scapegoat number one, but in the muggle world, he had found many people that he considered as close acquaintances, while in truth these people considered him as a friend, he just wasn't aware of it. He also chose not to be aware of it, as he did not want to get hurt again. But when these people needed him, if he was able to help, he would, and these normal people thanked him for it sincerely, but at the same time wondered and pondered over how the young man was able to pull through when others had a hard time simply trying. He was an enigma, one that presented himself as being a contented young man, while others were able to see the deep seeded loneliness, sorrow, and depression which was held within his soul.

Aside from knowledge about a number of topics, both interesting and mundane, Harry was also able to grasp languages, lots and lots of them, given enough time he would have been able to converse with anyone on the planet, and in some instances and cases, with a few from beyond that. Thanks to his rising potential, he was able to also begin to understand the languages of the other species of animal and not just that of the serpents.

Nearing the end of his little over a month before the voices contacted him in the real world, Harry began to fantasize about Batman, and some other fictional people, and their adventures. From the adventures of people hiding their true identities, Harry was able to find a way to live a semi-normal life within the magical world. He doned an alias, one that no one would really bother him about. He surmised that since the magical abilities, those rare ones that only a select few individuals needed a certain control of magic, then he would possibly be able to emulate the shapeshifting ability that Metamorphmagi had. So after much experimenting he gained the ability to shapeshift, not only his physical appearance, but also his clothes, but he didn't use that second part too often.

Using the ability to shapeshift he melded into magical society and was able to purchase goods without having to pay more than nescessary. One problem that had arisen early on when using his new ability, was that no matter what form he changed into, he could not remove his scar, one that had moved from being prominently in the near middle of his forhead to just above his left eyebrow. In his transformed state he chose to lengthen the scar than try to hide it under wrapping or the like, as that might possibly give him away as compared to lengthening the scar. He made it reach his cheek, and when he smiled it was reach the edge of his mouth. It passed through his eye, as if he had been slashed with a sword there. He also had to make his left eyes look unusable, while still be able to see with it.

Having mastered the ability to shapeshift, he believed that he had finally truly gained a level of mastery over his magic, but believing that he still needed a wand for certain occassions, he travelled to Knockturn Alley, where even there he was despised as Harry Potter, and purchased a wand. But instead of sheathing it in a wand holster he decided to take a leaf out of Wolverine's book, and sheathed it beneath his skin, but instead of popping out between his knuckles, the want would pop out from his wrist. Stashing it away was easy, he could just absorb the wand into his body from any part of his body. He had taken Wolverine's influence a step further by converting his body into some sort of unlimited in space container for everything.

Due to actions he had done while in the pursuit of the Horcruxes, Harry had to withdraw all the things that had been kept in Gringotts's Bank, as he was no longer trusted by the Goblins, just as he no longer trusted the Goblins themselves. All his valuables were kept as parts of himself, stored within himself, thousands upon thousands of things stored in his cells. He amazed himself with the number of things that he could keep on his person, and in his person.

One of his jobs was being a magician, one that performed some magic tricks, and some real magic though his clients did not know that. He loved children, as they were the only true innocents in the world, which was why he worked as a part time magician, as well as part time street performer. He performed for kid's parties, and sometimes for free at one of the hospitals or clinics around the country.

There was one occasion that he performed some magic for a science convention. Being inspired by Magneto, the Master of Magnetism, Harry trained himself in gaining the same mastery and ability over magnetism. A scientist having scoffed at the idea that nothing was impossible had spurred Harry into creating a magnet the size of a thimble but with enough magnetic power to life a ten ton block of iron which he demonstrated during his magic show. His magic show made use of things that the scientists at the convention tried to find explanations for, but most could not come up with logical explanations. One of his tricks left the audience baffled, after floating the iron block between two magnets, he held onto the block and absorbed it into himself. People could not fathom how he was able to do it.

Before being permitted to leave the convention grounds some of the convention staff had him go through a metal detector, as well as an x-ray, both were experiments to see how he was able to do some of the things that he did. Both test wielded no credible results, nothing that could be used to explain some of the things that Harry was able to do. One of the staff members had witnessed Harry bring out a pocket watch to check the time, but when he went through the metal detector, and x-ray machine, they were unable to find a pocket watch, or any kind of metal on him what so ever.

After the test and he was allowed to leave the ground, an accident that baffled the medical community happened. A nearby generator that was used to provide the electricity for the event exploded while Harry was passing by it. The science guys believed that there was no way that the magician would have been able to survive such an experience, but they still quickly made their way to him. Upon reaching him, they felt for a pulse but found none. Thinking sadly that such a talented young man had sadly lost his life in a freak accident, as some of the magic show audience members were beginning to wallow in sorrow, while others tried to revive the young man they were all surprised, shocked, terrified, and the like, when they found Harry get up off of the ground, fix his clothes to look somewhat presentable, thanked them for caring, then simply walked away.

The news crew that had been stationed at the convention grounds were not fast enough to cover the event. By the time that they had managed to get their senses working, they were unable to find hide nor hair of the mysterious young man, that had become the walking dead.

A week after the event, one of the scientist had bumped into him at the library where he was a janitor of, and had insisted that the young man have a full and comprehensive physical examination, the reason being that there was no way that someone having been exposed to such a calamity could have survived totally unscathed.

The examination results showed that there was absolutely nothing wrong with Harry, mentally or physically, there were absolutely no abnormalities, which in itself was an abnormality. Unable to accept the results for what they were, Harry was forced to undergo more tests, and exams, and the like. In the end the doctors and the one scientist were forced to declare that Harry was the healthiest person that they had ever encountered.

"X-men is the best," were Harry's parting words to the scientific practitioners.

At another point in time, while visiting a bank, a bank robbery and hostage taking occurred. Harry being one of the hostages. Remembering another character in X-men, he had no time to experiment and just pushed all his will and belief in his ability to do nearly anything, and gained the power of Shadowat, which is the ability to phase or become like a ghost in the sense that Hary had gained the ability to walk through or move a body part through any kind of solid matter, or any kind of matter actually. The day that he was in the bank there were also several children present, which was one of the deciding factors behind his choice to play the hero once again.

He phased through the floor when the criminal elements were not paying him any mind, looking rather weak they believed that he was no threat to them. It was one of the most enlightening and surreal experiences of his life, more so than his semi-death at the hands of Voldemort that one time that he had been shot with a killing curse, the same curse that had killed the soul fragment with Harry.

There is a mutant that goes by the name Jamie Madrox aka Multiple Man, Harry had his magic form some clones of himself, and positioned them underneath all the criminals. Then taking a leaf out of another marvel mutant's life, he gained gambits ability of giving objects an explosive charge. He and his clones blew the floor from under the criminals. Vanishing the clones, Harry phased back into the ground floor, and summarily proceeded to knock out the criminal elements within the bank. When all were unconscious he did a Nighcrawler, and bamf'd his way out of there, appearing in his apartment, dropping dead, and slept the rest of the day and night.

Presently he was packing up all of his things, or more like absorbing them into himself, he didn't own that many electrical appliances, and the ones that he did have in his apartment were all owned by the owners of the building. He did not own any cars, bikes, and the like, all he had were roller blades, skateboards, and a bicycle. All his valuables already being inside of him, the only things that remained were his clothes, his books, and whatnot.

Leaving a note to his landlord along with the payment for the rent of the remainder of the month, Harry went to the roof of the building. He stood on the ledge of the building overlooking the street, people saw him, and they started to panic, thinking that he was committing suicide. Some tried to get to him by running up the stairs, but Harry had conveniently jammed the door shut. Banging and shouts of 'Don't jump!' were the only things that reached him. Before taking his leap of faith, for what he had planned he had never tried of practiced. A thought, and an image swam into his mind, he jumped, then promptly transformed himself into a bird-man hybrid. A pair of wings instead of arms, and feathers instead of skin, his feet turned into claws, but his head and the rest of his body remained the same. His clothes however merged with his body, and formd a strange pattern on the feathers. He leapt of the building, and released the enchantment holding the roof door closed, and the last thing people saw was him soaring towards an opening in the clouds in the sky. Flying into it, the parting of clouds closed up, and no one could see him anymore.

The Magical world paid the news of a man turning into something that resembled a harpy no mind. It was nonsense to them, something like that could not have possibly happened without their knowledge, as harpies did not have the ability to do as the reports said. Also there was no way that anyone could have gained an animagus form of a harpy.

Harry Potter left the British Isles, taking all evidence of his ever existing with him.

Upon leaving many people experienced some really bad karma. There were some dark elements in magical society that believed that so long as Harry Potter existed then the Light, as it were, had a weapon to call forth to stop any form of terrorist and the like. But with all traces of Harry Potter gone, with no traces of his ever really existing, for some reason even record of his birth vanished, school records, everything. These darker elements reared their ugly heads. No Chosen One to save them, they were forced t odefend themselves, something that they had no real experience in doing.

The office of Albus Dumbledore was swamped with letters requesting aid or protection from the numerous dark organizations that started to pop up the moment that Harry Potter had left the country.

After a few days of the first reported sightings of dark wizards working together, Albus Dumbledore was shown how truly pathetic he was. Having claimed to be one of the, if not most, powerful wizard of all time, he was forcibly humbled when he was beaten in a duel with some dark wizards within his beloved stronghold called Hogwarts.

These weren't your run of the mill pureblooded dark wizards, no these were the more innovative, imaginative, and creative, muggleborn dark wizards, a class all their own. After years of being oppressed by the purebloods and even to some extent the halfbloods, they had finally had the courage to strike out, and make names for themselves. They secretly hid away from the world, preparing themselves for a time when they could all strike, and change the world, for what they believed was for the better. They had secretly pitied Harry Potter, an abused child that was forcibly turned into a muggleborn like creature, and was used and abused, then later on thrown away, but still within reach should the magical or rather wizarding world need his talents once again. Once these muggleborns believed that he was no longer within manipulation distance they struck with such ferocity.

The Magical world had grown stagnant with very few new spells and potions being presented to the community, but the muggleborn did not allow themselves to be affected by this stagnation, they invented, created, and updated. Sure they still used wands, but they also used some magically enhanced technologies, to aid them in their conquest of the European Magical World, which comapred to all the rest of the magical realm was the one that was still stuck in the dark ages. The Americas and Asia being farther ahead, while keeping with traditions, there was always some room for improvement and innovations.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer (1): This is a fan written work based on the works of J.K. Rowling. It might possibly also have some elements of a number of other works. There is no money being made from this, it is merely a work meant for the entertainment of myself and the masses. This is merely for fun, and no profit. I repeat: I am not making any money out of writing this.

Disclaimer (2): I also do not own anything that has to do with Juuni Kokki, Juuni Kokuki, Record of the Twelve Kingdoms, The Twelve Kingdoms. The only things that will probably be mine to claim are some of the names that will appear in the fic.

Warning: OCs OOCs Sues, and some crack. You have been warned.

Note 1: Post-DH Disclaimer (2) anime/novel Crossover

*****

*****

**CHANGE**

*****

**Chapter Three**

*****

*****

If someone were to look up at the sky, they would see a bird-human hybrid, with wings instead of arms, retaining a human head, but with feathers instead of skin and hair, with talons or claws for feet. Black feathers having shifted from looking like a set of clothes to simply a black feathered body. Flying alongside him were hundreds if not thousands of ravens, not crows, but ravens. They fed off of his magic, instead of stopping to hunt for food. Harry had to get to China, specifically to Zijin Cheng, where he would meet with the beings whose voices he heard in his dreams for little more than a year.

Why they had chosen to accompany him, Harry did not know, possibly it was because he resembled a raven himself. As the unkindness of ravens neared China, their numbr grew fewer and fewer, this was because for some reason the raven had begun merging with Harry, in a way becoming his familiars. Where Hedwig was merely a companion and friend, these ravens for some reason decided to form a connection with Harry.

Once he was within the borders of China, Harry no longer kept his hybrid form, instead he allowed his newly minted raven familiars to fly him the rest of the way, that he might rest for flying constantly for days on end. The ravens needing only absorb seme of his magic instead of having to rest for a time. Harry's form was that of a man, but at the same time he was covered in a cloak made out of the feathers of his raven companions.

Flying over the provinces, some that saw him in the sky believed that they would soon find themselves suffering from bad times. Some others simply believed in a change of fortune, whichever way that may have been.

When they had eventually arrived outside of the Meridian Gate, the ravens had all merged completely with Harry's magic, only to appear when Harry wanted them to. He wore instead a black button down shirt, with gold buttons and cuffs, black pants, black socks, and black shoes. His hair was white as snow, his scar ran down from his forehead, cutting through his eyebrow, left eye, all the way to his cheek. His eye misty white, yet he could still see with it. Over his clothes he wore a black cloak with gold embroidery of ravens perched on a branch and in flight. Why he had chosen to wear that, as well as look like that he didn't know, he simply felt that it was the perfect thing to do.

He had arrived early in the morning, but late enough for Zijin Cheng to be open to the public. People paid him no mind as he walked toward the gate. He passed through the central archway, and walked forward, walking with a linear course in mind. His destination was the Hall of Supreme Harmony. He first passed through the Gate of Supreme Harmony.

As he walked closer to his destination, every step that he took seemed to make his surroundings feel different. As if a storm was brewing, but he did not know how or why. There were some tourist present around him, but they did not seem to notice him, or the change in the aura of Zijin Cheng.

After a few steps, he noticed that not only was he surrounded by people but they began to no longer look like tourist. It was as if he had slowly journey'ed back to the past, back to the days when Zhu Di was still the Emperor of China. The place looked as if it had just been completed, Zijin Cheng looked as if everything was brand new. A few more steps closer to his destination, he began to smell incense being burnt, and he could see the smoke from the incense rising out of the bronze incense burners that surrounded the Hall of Supreme Harmony.

Once he reached the base of the stairs leading to his destination, he heard silence, as if the world was calm, and at a level of peace unheard of in his time.

Once he reached the top of the steps, he was greeted by the sight of people in ceremonial garb. He could see them, but they could not see him for some reason. He watched as history unfolded. He waited for all the pomp and circumstance ended, and followed the person whom he believed to be the embodiment of the Emperor.

When the man took his seat on the Dragon Throne, Harry stood at attention and wonder at the edge of the Hall, close to the doors. As he looked around he saw many people bowed down, with their foreheads touching the floor. But when he looked directly in front of him, his eyes locked with those of the Emperor.

It was as if the very essence of his being, as well as his entirety had merged for but a moment with all the rulers of Asia, the experienced lasted for only but a moment, but seemed like centuries to him. He had witnessed history in the making first hand. The rise and fall of rulers, as well as the rise and fall of their enemies. He had been them all, and he did not know why.

When he returned to being his original self, the one that he had known all his life, he was back where he started, standing at the edge of the hall, his back to the doors of the hall itself, and himself facing the Dragon Throne.

Something called out to him, it was the throne, so he followed his instincts and walked forward to the throne. As he stood before it, he felt the urge to turn around and face the hall. Seeing no one he wondered what he would or should do next.

Then he heard a faint voice, and saw a faint silhouette of a kneeling person right in front of him.

"I swear never to desert my post before your throne," the weak voice spoke, "I swear to never disobey your orders, accept my loyalty to you."

Harry felt a presence, or rather presences, as if he was slowly being surrounded by people, people of unknown origins. He felt them approach him from both sides, but none of them approached him from the front. Then he heard them speak, all of whom in familiar voices. His inner voices were present. They were with him, and he would finally get to meet them.

"Lived the history of an empire, you have," the teacher voice spoke, "Stand idly by and allow the country to suffer, shall you? Or take charge and rule?"

"Huh?" Harry said not knowing how to respond.

"You have lived the lives of all the past rulers, known their successes, their mistakes, and their failures," another teacher sounding voice spoke, "You have what it takes to lead, to conquer, to rule."

"You know what true suffering is like, you have felt it, dealt it, and lived it," another voice spoke up from one of his sides, "Will you allow others to live their lives as you have?"

"There is a world, unlike and yet similar to this one," another voice spoke up, "Connected to this one, it is. Yet, it is not a part of this one."

"There are lands with the potential to be great, filled with peace, and eternal prosperity," one of those that had spoken spoke up once again, "Will you allow one to continue moving ever downward, in a spiralling pattern, until the land turns to death, and continues to remain there, in terrible and constant decline for all of eternity?"

"Will you allow a people to suffer as you have suffered?" one of the other voices spoke up once again, "Will you serve as you have served? Will you act as you have acted? Will you believe as you have believed?"

"This is a world where you can live your own life, follow your own rules, and chose your own destiny," another of the voices spoke up, "A second chance at life, will you be able to lead."

"Should I accept, will you continue to guide me?" Harry asked after all the rapid fire questions and statements were said.

"Should you need our counsel we shall aid you, but should the means of solving any of your problems be already readily available, we shall not," the main teacher voice spoke.

"Have you made your decision then? To rule, or to turn away?" the other teacher voice questioned.

"I have," Harry said with conviction.

"They answer the one that has asked," all the voices spoke aloud in chorus.

"I accept," Harry declared, and at the next moment his world turned black, and he was gone from the world that he had at one time called home.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer (1): This is a fan written work based on the works of J.K. Rowling. It might possibly also have some elements of a number of other works. There is no money being made from this, it is merely a work meant for the entertainment of myself and the masses. This is merely for fun, and no profit. I repeat: I am not making any money out of writing this.

Disclaimer (2): I also do not own anything that has to do with Juuni Kokki, Juuni Kokuki, Record of the Twelve Kingdoms, The Twelve Kingdoms. The only things that will probably be mine to claim are some of the names that will appear in the fic.

Warning: OCs OOCs Sues, and some crack. You have been warned.

Note 1: Post-DH Disclaimer (2) anime/novel Crossover

*****

*****

**CHANGE**

*****

**Chapter Four**

*****

*****

He felt a soft pillow at the back of his head, and he felt as if he were laying down on a sofa. Slowly opening his eyes, he was greeted with very unfamiliar surroundings. There were people in the room, people that he had never seen in his life, and he saw two of them conversing with one another.

One of them was an old man, wearing a tattered grey shirt, a tattered brown scarf around his neck, and dark brown pants which looked to be brand new. In one hand he held a pen and paper, while in the other he held a cane, decorated at the handle end with the head of a dragon. He had black hair, and a pair of interchanging red and yellow eyes. The other one, looked much younger, he was wearing a black trench coat, underneath was a black long sleeved shirt, he was also wearing black pants, boots, a pair of sunglasses, and black gloves. His long black hair was tied in a lose pony-tail. His eyes were as black as obsidian. He was around six feet three inches tall. In his right hand was a sake cup.

"Ah, I see you have rejoined the land of the living," a person beside where Harry lay spoke up. The voice belonging to a young man in his mid twenties, wearing a grey ensamble, but with a white mythril shirt over his grey undershirt.

"My name is Clement Notredamos, formerly Clement Nostredamos," the same person introduced himself, "It's nice to finally get to speak to you face to face."

"N-nice..to..meet..you.." Harry said tiredly, he felt as if he had been drained of a considerable amount of energy, or something like that.

"Masters," Clement called out to the two conversing men, "He has awakened!"

Two two men halted their conversation and approached the couch on which Harry lay.

"I am Crius, your primary dreamland teacher," the old man introduced himself, "Nice to finally speak with you physically."

"And I am Kyonshi, Toukou Kyonshi, and yes my given name means animated corpse," the younger of the two teacher sounding people said.

"Nice..to meet you," Harry said, "Why do I feel so tired?"

"Ah, I shall exaplain after everyone else has introduced themselves," Kyonshi stated.

"I am Juushu, a former student of Master Kyonshi," one of the men in the room said. He wore a hooded trench coat the outside was dark red in color, the inside was white. Underneath the coat he wore a dark red shirt with an orange spiral over where his heart would be. His pants were also dark red, with white clouds embroidered on the sides of the pant legs. Shielding his feet from the elements were a pair of boots the color of dried blood. As for his hands, he had a pair of dirty white colored gloves that sported a some red splotches here and their, as if he had bloodied his gloves killing someone with his bare hands, "An emperor, and warlord at the same time."

"Nice to meet you," Harry said feeling some of his strength quickly returning to him, like Deadpool and Wolverine and their healing factors.

"I am Har or Aetas whichever you wish to use," a young man wearing clothes that showed the day and night sky, his clothes as in the shirt and pants showing the day sky, while his cloak looking as if it were made out of the night sky.

"Nice to meet you Har," Harry said, thinking that calling someone Har was quite funny, seeing as the first three letters of his name were H, A, and R.

"Cool, he called me Har," Har Aetas said ecstatic, "No one's ever chosen to call me Har before."

"I am Madara," another black haired man said, this one wearing ninja attire, "Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too, sir," Harry said, feeling as if the man wanted to hear that one three letter word.

"Now that you have been introduced to all of us, I shall explain why you felt drained of power," Kyonshi stated, "After accepting the position of ruler for a land which you have never in your lifetime been to, or even heard off, forces beyond your control forced you to leave your world in a wonderful display of power, that generations of Chinese are sure to remember and add to the many myths surrounding their country's history."

"What he means is that you were transported, using your own magic, to power up a storm, one which transported you to the world where you are alotted a country to govern," Crius explained, "But after arriving there, we could not leave you, unconscious and without your protector, so we brought you here, to Kyonshi's home."

"Where is here?" Harry asked.

"Kyonshi's home is a fortress atop an impossibly high mountain, on a world known as a Crossworld, one of many worlds," Crius answered.

"Why did you bring me here?" Harry asked.

"Because we didn't have the heart to leave you defenseless, and we also wanted to arrange it that you would not have to bend to the Will or Mandate of Heaven," Kyonshi stated.

"What do you mean by that?" Harry asked the group.

"You have accepted the position of ruler of the Kingdom of Hou, therefore you were originally to be semi-controlled by the Will of Heaven and the power of Tentei," Crius explained.

"Tentei? Kingdom of Hou? I don't get it.." Harry said and admitted.

"The faint voice that you heard in the Hall of Supreme Harmony belonged to the Hou Taiho named Hourin, a kirin, a sacred beast that resembles a unicorn," Kyonshi stated, "She had chosen you to rule Hou, and she had pledged to be your servant or slave for as long as you shall live."

"Tentei is the supreme god of the worlds and lands of Juuni Kokuki," Crius explained, "We wanted to give you the chance of not having to conform to that god.."

"By being granted certain powers and abilities that the world in which you will live are not readily available, and available only to a select few," Kyonshi continued where Crius left off, "We were sure that you wanted to continue being a wizard, as well as have a few more adventures."

"How did..?" Harry began to ask but was interrupted by Clement.

"Magic is addictive, I should know for I use it a lot," Clement said.

"I too went to Hogwarts and know how many people would be reluctant to give up the ability to use magic," Har Aetas said.

"You went to Hogwarts?" Harry asked in disbelief.

"Yes, but not your Hogwarts, as I am sure that you are aware that there are more worlds than your original one," Har Aetas said.

"Amazing," Harry said.

"Returning to the main topic of discussion at hand," Kyonshi said, "Now that you are awake, I would like to inform you that Tentei has only basic control over you, think of yourself as a demi-god, in a world that is based heavily on China."

"Ok, I think I get what you guy's are trying to explain to me," Harry said.

"Good, next thing that I would like to inform you about it the condition of Hourin," Crius said.

"What do you mean by the condition of Hourin, shouldn't she be with you?" Harry asked sitting up on the couch.

"Unfortunately she is unaware of her being a Kirin, she was able to communicate with you astrally, and subconsciously," Kyonshi said, "Before you can claim the throne, even though you already are the ruler of Hou, you must first locate Hourin, wherever she may be."

"Most likely she has been living in the land of Hou, but without any memory of being a kirin, as well as having her servant demons, or tamed youma having been subconsciously locked away until her memories of being a kirin return," Crius said.

"So..I'll be doing what the kirin is supposed to do?" Harry asked, some additional information about he world in which he was going to live in being forcefully crammed into his brain, along with some other information.

"Basically...yes...but since you won't be recognized as ruler, you can still run amok in your own kingdom," Madara said, "Cause some chaos, do some rebelling, defend the weak, whatever you want."

"But at the same time try and locate your kirin," Clement said.

"Okay, so..now what? Cause I feel better already," Harry asked.

"Now we get you over there through another Shoku or storm," Crius said, then motioned for Kyonshi to lift Harry up from the couch, "Before we send you on your way, what would you like to be called, since Harry is a name that will stand out too much in the place where you are going."

"Kurai, for dark, dignity, and nobility," Harry answered.

"Fare thee well then Kurai!" the former voices without faces said, which was followed by Kyonshi hurling the newly dubbed Kurai out the nearest window and into the eye of a storm.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer (1): This is a fan written work based on the works of J.K. Rowling. It might possibly also have some elements of a number of other works. There is no money being made from this, it is merely a work meant for the entertainment of myself and the masses. This is merely for fun, and no profit. I repeat: I am not making any money out of writing this.

Disclaimer (2): I also do not own anything that has to do with Juuni Kokki, Juuni Kokuki, Record of the Twelve Kingdoms, The Twelve Kingdoms. The only things that will probably be mine to claim are some of the names that will appear in the fic.

Warning: OCs OOCs Sues, and some crack. You have been warned.

Note 1: Post-DH Disclaimer (2) anime/novel Crossover

*****

*****

**CHANGE**

*****

**Chapter Five**

*****

*****

It was a wasteland, he had landed in a patch of earth that was devoid of life, there was nothing there that one could recognize as having life in it. He was surrounded by earth, earth, and more earth, with the occassional dead plant, and stone in the mix, or to add variation to his surroundings. From the knowledge that had been dumped into his head, Kurai figured out that his arrival was a rather unconventional one, as instead of landing in water, he landed on earth. But no matter what knowledge he had obtained, none of it could tell him where in the world he was. There were no tell tale signs of which country he was in, which kingdom he was in. There was a scarcity of people within the area which he landed, which made gathering information difficult.

For some unknown reason, he landed in his new world on his ass of all things. He didn't land on his face like he had expected after he had been thrown out a window and into the eye of a shoku. He didn't land on his back either, he didn't land on his feet, or his hands, or his head. He landed on his ass, and boy did it hurt.

Instead of going out into the rest of the world, and personally exploring the lay of the land, and the rest of the land, or trying to find a human settlement, Kurai decided to examine his present and latent knowledge of any way of scouting the land without having to move much, as well as figure out what other powers he had at his disposal, as he was something akin to a demi-god in power and ability.

Before delving too deep he found something in his mind that would help him in his present plight, instead of knowledge, it was actually a memory. He remembered that he had a great unkindness of ravens at his disposal, at his beck and call, ones that need not feed on living matter for they fed on his magic. So he released them into the world, instructing them with mental commands to fly far and wide, and provide a mental map of the land, as far as the eye could see, just to figure out where in all twelve kingdoms he was, for he knew that there was a possibility that he had not landed in Hou.

He became an eye of a storm of ravens, a black storm of feathers and flapping wings. It was an ominous sight, one that if it had been seen by one of the mortals of the world, would have caused him or her to have died of fright, not only due to what is associated with the color black, but also with the sheer number of the things. It was like a plague of youma had randomly spawned from the soil and were covering the land with their presence. Should someone had seen the individual standing in the midst of it all, they would have thought that the anti-thesis of Tentei were present, which in a way he was.

Once all the ravens had been released unto the world, Kurai delved into his now vast knowledge, intent on finding powers that would help his decide on what to do now that he had found a way to map out the land which he was in.

The first power that he found interesting was his slight power over life and death, over creation and destruction, over conjuring and transfiguration. As he was in a desolate place, he thought that perhaps he could breathe a little life into the place, it was obviously a rulerless place, but since he had to a certain degree immunity from the power and influence of Tentei he would see if he could brighten up the place. Using his new found power, one which instructions on its use were already embedded in his mind, he had grass and trees grow around him. Simple grass, and simple trees, no flowers or fruits had been brought to existence. With a bit of imagination, he thought of creating a small house, or hut that he could stay in in the meanwhile, one that he made sprout out of the ground in the form of a tree, and ending up being a tree house. His tree house was surrounded on all sides by trees, it resembled a wooden and leaved fortress, or bird house, depending on who was looking.

Even though no one could see him, he believed that it would be a good idea to start semi-fresh, by changing his somewhat default look. What he had known as being his default physical look was to be exchanged with a young man in his mid twenties, sporting a shock of long white hair, his scar would run down and through his left eye to his mid cheek, his left eye would look misty as if a permanent and mystical fog permanently permeated it. Depending on his mood his eye would shift from looking like he could see with it, to looking dead as a blind man's set, to a raging storm. He changed his canines into real fangs, retractable ones too, allowing his to have a vampiric feel when it came to his oral cavity. He chose to keep his height, and kept his lithe athletic build, he need not change his build for should he need some more power in his punches, should he need to punch, he had his magic to augment any additional power, speed, and the like. For his right eye, he decided to keep the color, but here was one change that he did not count on. He found out that after defeating his arch-nemesis, he had gained another attribute from the monster of a man, when angered, or whenever he so chose, his eyes could and would change to crimson, blood red orbs, so he decided to keep that ability to only his right eye. Deciding to honor the dead a little, he decided that since Voldemort was probably one of the few people that respected him, he would change the shape of his eyes a little bit, as well as his pupils, having them change and gain a more serpentine look.

He had stored in his body more than a queen's share of clothes, and with his magical ability, he could add more and modify them to his liking. Creating chest in which to keep his clothes, he brought out enough clothes to last for two weeks, without the need for washing. They were in the chinese cheongsam style for men, ranging from black to gray to red to blue, in a few shades of each color, there was even a white one, along with some undershirts, and underwear. Instead of the usual kinds of socks that he was used to, he opted to go for something asian, but not in the chinese sense. He chose tabi socks, and straw sandals, he wanted to be able to walk around ninja style.

Setting up some more furniture in his new home, as well as bringing out a few more nescesities, Kurai, went about using his power over plant life for a few more things. Leaving his tree house after inspecting it, and making sure that everything was to his liking, he simply walked around his new home, and forced the earth to grow fertile, added an underground water source, and a well, as well as irrigation systems, in short he created for himself a farm.

Once his farming was finished, he went back into his mind to see if there was anything else he could use for the time being to make sure that he did not grow bored. After a few minutes of perusing and cataloging his knowledge and memories, he found knowledge on how to actually and properly use weapons, from simple daggers to long bows, to scimitars of all things. He guessed that sometime in his future he would have to do some fighting. Along with such knowledge were instructions on how to make such tools of offense and defense. With that knowledge he knew to do a slew of other things as well. Not that he needed to create any weapons for the time being, nor did he really need any as he had a number of them stored away in his body.

Taking out a longbow and some arrows, he went to the top of the tree that made up his tree house, then decided to inscribe seal arrays onto the arrows. To pass the time he decided that he would set up wards, and the like around what he had claimed as his land. He would fire the arrows with the seal arrays around what he had dubbed as his perimeter, then when all were in place, he would activate them with his magic.

But before setting up the actual arrows with the seals, he decided that he would practice first. He may have had the knowledge, but he did not think that that was enough for something that needed accuracy and a lot of percision. So he practiced for a bit, and once he was confident enough to set the arrows where he needed them he began and let the magical arrows fly.

After a few hours of doing a number of other things after setting up his protective wards, he grew hungry, as well as ran out of ideas for things to do for the time being, so he went to a portion of his farmland and simply grabbed a potato from out of the ground, and cooked it by fire that he simply summoned from out of thin air. He roasted the potato while holding it in his flame colored hand. When it was cooked to the degree that he wished it to be, he simply took a bite out of it, chewed a bit, then swallowed, rinse and repeat until he had no more roasted potato.

Wanting a drink of water, he went to his well, and pulled up a bucket load of the stuff, the water was clean of anything harmful to any living organism that Kurai knew of. So he drank his fill, and sprinkled what was not consumed on his plants. Which gave him an idea on what to do before resting as it was the end of the day, and the sun had already set.

He decided to play with the elements for a little bit, see how much of a mastery he had over them. He knew he had some mastery over them to a degree, but he wanted to know just how much power he had. Controlling the elements was different from how he had created his home, and farmlands, and whatever else he had created. The elements themselves were something else entirely, they were another branch of magic. He already had some experience with fire, subconsciously calling forth the flames that covered his hand and cooked his potato, so he went a little bit further and tried to see if he could clothe himself with fire. Which after some tries and failures, he succeeded in clothing himself in flames, even going so far as to solidify them to a degree. But he found that he had to constantly exert some manner of control over the element, for when he loosened up his control the fires burned that which they were not meant to burn, like the ground, and whatever else was not a part of Kurai's body, normal clothes do not do that. Over fire he could not simply order the element to do something, he had to constantly be in control for it to do his bidding.

His next element of choice was water, which was an easy enough element to gain control over, he had even been able to make ice, by lowering the temperature of the water. He tried to make a water gun using his hand as the gun, and simply shooting water from the tip of his pointer finger. It took several tries for him to get it right, but in the end he was able to make a pressurized water gun using his hand. For passive things, the water element would and could simply be left alone, but in active things like the water gun Kurai had to grab hold onto the element and direct it and control it.

The winds were a different story all together, as they were as unpredictable as the weather that they were usually a part of. They were simply too free flowing, but the winds knew that Kurai was in a way a kindred spirit, in that he loved to fly. He loved the wind, and the wind loved him, to the point that even though they were unpredictable, Kurai had enough power over them, that unlike water and fire, he need not exert that much control in any action, only when he needed them to be something between a gentle breeze and a howling tornado.

Wood was an element that he had already been tapping into, he only realized it when he tried to figure out how to see his proficiency in its manipulation and use. He had created his new home using it, and had even fed himself with a bit of it. Plant life was a part of it. The element of wood, was an amalgamation of the life and death aspect of the elements, of the world, of existence. To counter-balance this, there were two more elements that Kurai had found to be in existence: electricity or lightning, and metal. For metal he already had a mastery over it, as he could not only create them at will, but could bend them to his will thanks to his mastery over magnetism, thank you Magneto. With electricity, or energy, he also had a mastery over the thing, but mostly revolved around direct contact, as he did not think that hurling lightning bolts was such a safe thing to do.

Lastly there was earth, the ground upon which he walked on. It was the hardest of them all, when it came to control, as he had to exert a great amount of control, as well as concentration when it came to the use of the element. Cheating by using magic was one thing, but directly using the element was another thing. He had to be in total command, leader mode if you will, when using and directing the element. He had to be firm, to simply create a wall of earth, was a feat in itself. Which in the end, made earth his most difficult to master, as well as one of the things that he would need to improve on personally.

After having done many exercises with the elements, he realized that he had finally exhausted himself. So he went to his chosen area to sleep, and slept.

As he drifted off into dreamland, he subconsciously changed his appearance once again, but this time not into another human look, but into the form of a gray kirin, as the last thought that had entered his mind was how to find his kirin, which caused his magic to transform him into one.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer (1): This is a fan written work based on the works of J.K. Rowling. It might possibly also have some elements of a number of other works. There is no money being made from this, it is merely a work meant for the entertainment of myself and the masses. This is merely for fun, and no profit. I repeat: I am not making any money out of writing this.

Disclaimer (2): I also do not own anything that has to do with Juuni Kokki, Juuni Kokuki, Record of the Twelve Kingdoms, The Twelve Kingdoms. The only things that will probably be mine to claim are some of the names that will appear in the fic.

Warning: OCs OOCs Sues, and some crack. You have been warned.

Note 1: Post-DH Disclaimer (2) anime/novel Crossover

*****

*****

**CHANGE**

*****

**Chapter Six**

*****

*****

It took three weeks before the ravens returned from their mass scouting mission, each had brought in its mind a piece of the puzzle that was the land on which Kurai had landed. It was truly a desolate place, ravaged by sickness, famine, and other natural disasters. The few places that actually had some green were, according to the ravens, filled with wild beasts that normally would not be found in the numbers which they were. The ravens were able to relay other information, and not just the lay of the land, but also of human settlements that they had found, most of which were uninhabited. The places that were, held within their walls a starving, and a dying people, people that upon seeing the ravens, did not react all that much as if they were already resigned to their fates. Some of the ravens witnessed some of the people escape the island nation, the country which was equivalent in size to a continent, they travelled to the main continent of the twelve kingdoms, specifically in the direction of En and Kei.

From that information Kurai was able to deduce that he was on Tai, the kingdom whose king and kirin were lost to them for unknown reasons. But what concerned him more was not the missing important figures, but rather the starving people devoid of hope. He could sympathize with them a little bit. Having enough to survive, Kurai decided that he would have to do something to help those people.

So he transformed his ravens, of which were no longer entirely separate individuals, but rather extensions or parts of himself. He gave them human form, each one wearing a mask depicting a raven, all of them exactly the same, not that telling one apart from another was all that important at that point. They each wore all black clothing, and bronze colored boots and gloves. Covering their body from view were cloaks made out of their feathers.

Kurai then fashioned transfigured some stones into carts, and had the ravens gather food and pile them on the carts, and covered the food just in case, to avoid the senses of hungry youma on the prowl beyond his home's perimeter. Once all the carts were loaded with sufficient food for the starving people, along with some medicines for the sick and dying, Kurai sent the ravens on their way. Ten to a cart, two to tow, and the rest to either direct or to guard against theives, be they human or beast.

Just as a precaution, he sent some untransformed ravens flying, having them keep aerial watch over the carts. It would not do to have the things and their precious cargos ambushed and whisked away.

Some of the ravens were given an altered plume, these special avians were given one extra feather, a jade feather, which signified them as the eyes and ears of Kurai.

Through the eyes of those special birds, he was able to see some larger settlements in the region, these ones having more people, while at the same time still having some people that looked to be living better lives than the rest, provincial governors that had gotten greedy, and acted more like warlords than mere governors. They cared little for the people, and cared only about themselves. Throught he eyes of the ravens, Kurai was also able to see how the sennin were doing, seeing some of them still living blissfully ignorant of the suffering around them, and their still comfortable lives. Their servants knowing the suffering down below, but not being able to do anything about it.

Kurai did not like what he saw, and vowed to one day do something about it, he knew that he would not be able to use any kind of kingly powers in Tai, but he would do what he could, while at the same time solve the mystery that was the vanishing of Tai-o and Tai Taiho.

After sometime, he witnessed some attacks on his food carts, done not by beast, but by men. Their attempts at robbing the carts, or even simply extorting something from the carts were all thwarted by the ravens, whose intellect and wisdom were added to when they were given their human forms. They not only outsmarted the bandits, but were also able to instill in them a fear of ravens.

When the food carts reached the settlements, they were received with much suspicion by the residnets, for who would willingly send so much food to starving villagers, without knowing them personally. The ravens did not answer when questioned about who had sent the carts, who they were working for, and any other question. All they said was that they were ordered to stay until all the food was used up, and to make sure that the residents were kept safe.

Some of the people wondered at the possibility of the Tai-o and his kirin being found. The ravens only response to that was that they were still missing, but that their master was trying to find them, without much success yet. Not letting anything else slip, the ravens were after a week or two accepted by the residents of the settlements, but in some cases were forced to hide away lest they catch the attention of some of the local warlords who would steal what was for the starving, sick, and dying.

They never told a single person their name, or what they were. They were ravens, all without names, but when asked about their master, some decided that it would be a good idea to simply answer Karasu or crow, a lesser cousin of the raven, but one that was steeped in negativity, as they did not want to answer all that truthfully, and Karasu was as close to raven as they could come up with, Kurai did not object to his servants' choice either.

Through his ravens he had learned that the most recent ruler to be chosen, aside from himself, was the queen of Kei or Kei-o. She had been in power for not more than ten years, and her country was prospering. He had some of the young queen's story stored away in his organized head, but the information that he gleamed using his ravens was more detailed. He even went so far as to think that it would be possible that such an individual would know a little something about the missing king and kirin. But walking that path would have to be put off until a later date.

By watching the world, or more like simply Tai, through the eyes and ears of his avian servants, he failed to monitor the activity closer to his base of operations. He monitored the carts that came and went, taking food and whatnot to the settlements that they had been assigned to, but he had failed to watch out for any intruders.

He was unprepared for any attack, not thinking that it was a possibility that someone would someday stumble upon his home, which was not at all affected by the natural disasters that ran rampant all over the country, or the youma that visciously guarded and hunted in the sparse few green places around the land.

One night, as he lay sleeping in his home, luckily only reachable by flying or climbing up, he had been alerted by his wards, some parts he noticed were missing, the seal arrows that held up those parts having been destroyed by something. His first thought that was some regular wild animal had found its way onto his land, but his thoughts quickly changed when he heard the distinct sound of footsteps trampling on his property. The footsteps did not belong to only one animal which he knew of, that being man. He had some trespassers, something which he had not really prepared for.

None of his ravens were close enough to him to help him in any way, all of them were out on missions. All Kurai had was himself. He had numerous tricks up his sleeve, but he did not want to let the world know about all that he could do in case one of the tresspassers escaped his clutches. So he stuck to the idea of simply stunning them, then figuring out what to do to them once all had been subdued.

He may have had thousands of ravens, but there were equally that many things he needed them to accomplish, a bunch of which had to do with the missing rulers of Tai.

He teleported himself soundlessly to the top of the main tree, the one which his house was a part of, then he brought out his longbow. Instead of arrows, he charged up stunners, each spell being given the form of an arrow. Once one had been formed, he let it fly, where it promptly hit his target, stunning the person. Trespasser upon trespasser fell to his arrows. There seemed to have been a hundred of them in all. When all hundred of them were knocked out, he jumped down to manually collect the bodies.

He did not count the number of people that had trespassed correctly, for there was one more person that he had not been able to see. The leader of what appeared to be a group of prolific bandits had hidden himself amongst the trees, while his minions went about their business. Upon seeing Kurai, he snuck his way behind him and forced Kurai to the ground.

Once Kurai was pinned to the ground by the bandit leader, he was told to call his men out. The leader refused to believe that one man could take down one hundred men with a bow all by himself, and insisted that there were more of them, at least nine more men hidden in the trees. When Kurai kept insisting that he was the only person there, the bandit leader beat him up a bit, Kurai allowing the mortal man to do so, not really caring all that much as his injuries healed rather quickly.

When the bandit leader was tired of Kurai refusing to give up his non existent men, he brought out a blade and prepard to kill the immortal, not that stabbing would have worked as the bandit leader intended.

The bandit leader halted his action when he heard a howl rent through the night air. He quickly tried to flee the scene, thinking to leave his band and Kurai to the wolf youma that were approaching, sure to have been drawn to the scent of blood, that came from Kurai's wounds.

The bandit leader was not able to make it away in time, as he was the first of many among the bandits that were torn to pieces.

Kurai decided to give the bandits, whom he did not mean to kill, a chance to get away, and quickly revived them all, shouting run once all of them were awake, even the ones being torn to piece were awoken, not that it really mattered when it came to those poor unfortunate souls, in pain, and in desperate need of aid, aid that would not and could not reach them in time.

Around twenty five bandits were able to escape the attention of the youma, all of which had directed their attention to Kurai.

He was stuck with the problem of some fifty youma staring at him hungrily, for some reason. Not wanting to die or simply experience something as gruesom as being torn to shreds, he nearly panicked but used the first idea that popped up in his head.

"Rin Byou Tou Sha Kai Jin Retsu Zen Gyou!" Kurai calmly called out moving his right arm in the way that kirin did when they began the process to turn a wild youma into one of their servants, then continued speaking once he knew that he had their undivided attentions, "Shinchoku Meichoku, Tensei Chisei, Jinkun Seikun, Fuo Fudaku, Kimi Koubuku, Onmyou Wagou, Kyuu Kyuu Nyo Ritsu Ryou!"

Kurai then proceeded to stare, or glare them all down, his right eye changing to crimson, while his misty eye churning into a storm. The remaining bandits that were hiding out in the forest that surrounded Kurai's land and served as a semi-barrier, felt something in the air. Kurai's magic was overwhelming and overflowing. Some of them were forced to their knees, while others were simply floored and forced to the floor, but still allowing their eyes witnessing something they had not thougth possible. Someone, someone they believed to be human was attempting to gain some shirei.

"Hoppou no Urufu!" Kurai called out, saying each wolf's name in each of their mind, taming, and turning each one into his servant, his own kind of shirei, except without that oath that would allow them to eat his corpse should he ever die.

When Kurai's power was once again contained, the bandits ran for their lives in fear of retribution by a being that was neither man nor kirin, but had monsters at his disposal.

"Fools.." Kurai muttered, as he mentally ordered his wolf pack, or Hoppou no Urufu which meant something like Northern wolves, to rest beneath the trees surrounding his house, instead of in his shadow, since he was technically not a kirin, he did not want to be viewed more like one. He made some of the trees hollow, as well as added space beneath them to serve as dens for the wolves.

When he was done, his protections renewed, and some were added in case something similar were to perchance happen again, and he had made sure that his new servants were inside their new homes, he went back to his bedroom and promptly fell asleep, shifting into what he would later recognize as his animagus form, one of them anyway. It was the form of a krin, a gray one, but was different from the run of the mill kirin in that his horn was not blunt, but was like a spear, and could be turned into a razon blade, there was also the fact that in that form, he looked like he was constantly bleeding, a blood like substance ran from the tip of his horn, and simply flowed down in, and dripped to the floor where it just vanished or evaporated.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer (1): This is a fan written work based on the works of J.K. Rowling. It might possibly also have some elements of a number of other works. There is no money being made from this, it is merely a work meant for the entertainment of myself and the masses. This is merely for fun, and no profit. I repeat: I am not making any money out of writing this.

Disclaimer (2): I also do not own anything that has to do with Juuni Kokki, Juuni Kokuki, Record of the Twelve Kingdoms, The Twelve Kingdoms. The only things that will probably be mine to claim are some of the names that will appear in the fic.

Warning: OCs OOCs Sues, and some crack. You have been warned.

Note 1: Post-DH Disclaimer (2) anime/novel Crossover

*****

*****

**CHANGE**

*****

**Chapter Seven**

*****

*****

Blood was apparently harder to get rid of then he anticipated, even with magic to help him, blood simply was too hard to get rid of. There was a lot of it, a small part being his blood. After a few hours of trying to evaporate the blood from the ground with heat, he thought to try something. Since some of the blood was his, then it was probably possibly for him to reabsorb the blood into his body somehow, he just needed to figure out how.

Standing on the patches of blood did not work, which meant that his human form could not do the absorption thing, he decided against transforming into a blood blob monster since on the chance that that plan failed, he'd have a lot more blood to get rid of. A memory then flashed into his mind, it was that of a kirin, and their aversion to blood. The thought of a kirin struck him, which allowed another memory, albeit a faint one, to flash through the forefront of his mind. It was of his transformation the night before into a kirin like creature, the memory was weird, it seemed as if his connection to the elements had allowed him to gain some king of memory of the elements as well, specifically wood and wind which were the closest ones affecting him as he fell asleep the night before. His form looked like a perverted kirin, the blood like substance flowing off of his horn caught his attention. So he sought that particular power within himself and transformed into that form.

When the gray kirin with a blade like and bloody horn appeared in place of a man appeared, the shirei came out of their dens wondering what their master was up to. They had knowledge about kirin themselves, and knew what one looked like, and what one felt like, and they knew that their master was not one of those. So they watched curiously as Kurai willed the blood to seep back into his self, back into his body.

The blood moved from their places on the ground, all the blood, even those that did not belong to him originally, they alll seeped into his hooves which were the only parts of his body that were connected to the ground.

It was a surprisingly new experience for the young man in kirin form, it felt revitalizing, as if he were being charged up with some new energy, and some energy that he had yet to reclaim was restored to him. The blood held magic, even the blood of the bandits held some magic in them, he was not only returning his own into himself, but adding to it.

When his feeding was done, he reverted back to his human form, and went about his daily business, which consisted of tending to his farm, and watching the world through the eyes of his many ravens.

The wolves that were now wide awake and out of their dens, were instructed to help in taking care of the farm, as well as patrolling the perimeter just in case someone else or something else stumbled upon his _little_ hideaway. They gladly obliged all of whom were happy to help in such an endeavor, as well as serve their master.

Once noon arrived and scorched the world in its heat and wonder, all the workers in the fields as well as the ones partolling around them stopped working and took a break. Kurai had sent out some of the wolves go out into the surrounding forest that had somehow spontaneously born some animals, youjuu and their lesser brethren, an hunt for some meat. Kurai sent some magic through his connection with them, to grant them more speed, size, and power, temporarily to aid them in their hunt. He decided that he would have some salad and gatheredd the nescessary veggies from his farm lands.

While eating, Kurai looked through the eyes of his raven sentries, the ones that guarded the food carts. He saw that the people were doing well, and so were the rest of his ravens, no one had caught on to them as of yet. Though he noticed that the bandits had grown in number, there were simply too many people that were greedy in the world to want to share what little they had. They figured that since the food carts were plentiful, and could be found in other places, then they came from some place of abundance. Should they attack en masse, they might have a chance at grabbing the place for themselves, and exploitthe people of the suffering land.

After finding out that little bit of information from his and through his ravens, Kurai decided that perhaps he needed some more protective measures to be put in place to defend his home, as we as possibly the carts, and their destinations.

'_I guess I'll just have to go look for some more shirei_,' Kurai thought to himself, and wondered where he would find any more of the things.

The bandits were still in the planning and reasearch stage of their operation, as well as organization, so Kurai knew that he had some time to find himself a few more youma to serve him. So he turned into a black male harpy, and took to the skies, leaving instructions to his wolves, which he realized were called Kiki, that they were to continue work as well as defending the place from hostiles and intruders, while allowing the ravens both in their bird and human form to enter the place and continue their missions and the like.

Kurai flew around for a while in land, not finding or encountering the kind of youma that he wanted, so he decided to fly out to above the sea waters. Over the waters he sought out the ships transporting the people of Tai escaping the continent kingdom, there were still a number of them even to this day, to Kei and En. He kenw that some youma would be targetting the ships, so he chose to go and serve as their protection, while at the same time he was hopeful that he would be able to catch him some more servants.

He caught up with a ship that was halfway into its journey to En, and was unfortunately seen as an omen for things to come by the people. Their looks then changed from hopeful for a better and new life, to resignation that they would not reach their destination. Knowing their thoughts, Kurai promised to prove them wrong.

So when a murder kochou appeared he was quick to respond, he didn't bother attacking them, and swiftly went to the capturing part.

He moved his wings to his back, which allowed his arms to become arms, which allowed him to perfrm the motions for the process of the taming, and creation of new servants.

People down in the ship that witnessed his transformation grew even more resigned to their fates, believing that Kurai was the somehow leader of the kochou, and was the beacon that led murder to their ship. But they were shocked when they saw the attacking birds stop in mid descent, and focused their attention on who the people perceived to be their leader.

The people witnessed Kurai go through the motions of the taming, but they did not know what they meant. After a while, the people witnessed the creatures grow a bit more calmed, and after some time did not attack the ship and eat her people. Instead, the kochou took up a flight pattern, all one hundred of them, formed an aerial formation that made them look like an escort of the ship, rather than attackers or predators and the ship and her people were the prey.

After a day or two, the people grew accustomed to their flying companions and protectors, which grew in number, from one hundred to one hundred fifty individual youma, after some others decided to attack, but were swayed into entering the service of Kurai. It was probably a bad idea to stay around the ship, for instead of really keeping the ship safe, it attracted more harmful elements rather than keep the things away.

It was on fourth day that Kurai realized his mistake, the sheer number of youma that he had with him had attracted a youma that ate other youma, and the high concentation of available food had attracted it.

It burst out of the water in a malevolent spray of water, letting out blasts of lightning in attempts to take down the flying youma. Kurai immediately reacted, but losing twenty five of his birds. He decided that he would need to confront the beast, which would also possibly serve as a good servant under him, he just had to figure out the best way to keep it in place long enough for him to catch its attention. So he directed the remaining birds, suffused with his magic, to try and keep the thing in place long enough for him to gather enough energy to confront and challenge the beast.

When he had gotten the attention of the beast with the first set of incantations, he mentally ordered his remaining one hundred birds, another twenty five falling prey to the beast's attacks, to gather up the people and take them to the safety of En, which was just a few days away, or a few hours away to the youma.

Some of the people refused to go with the birds, choosing to stay with the ship and see things through, wondering what would happen to the mysterious winged being that had chosen to confront the youma.

The ship cast anchor and watched the battle of wills occur overhead. Each of the two participants refusing to give way to the other and chose surrender and servitute or possibly death.

It took two days for some new developments to be seen. The sea was so calm despite the presence of the monstrous figure that was above the waters, with part of its body still beneath the waves. The calm was suddenly shattered when the air was suddenly filled with so much power that it was suffocating. The energy pushed down on all that surrounded its source, which was Kurai. The ship was visibly pushed down as was the sea, a whirlpool had formed around the ship which was directly below Kurai. The massive serpent was visibly frightened and surprised by the show of power.

In retaliation, the serpent itself let loose some of its own power, which added to the oppressive feeling that all could feel permeating the air. The serpent visibly grew stronger when it brought out its power to battle with the power of its opponent. It had somehow been able to match Kurai's output.

Stretching his senses, Kurai sensed that the serpent's power was not just its own, but belonged in part to a higher power, one which was guaging how much Kurai would try to usurp the natural order of things in the world. None other than Tentei himself wanted to know to what lengths that Kurai would go to challenge his power, Tentei's power. From out of nowhere, a shield of energy surrounded the vessel beneath the two combatants, one created out of energy that had sprung up out of nowhere. Tentei had decided to intervene when it came to some of his people. He did not want them to perish due to his and Kurai's combined power. The shield shimmered into existence, and was golden in color, yet still transparent.

Kurai realizing what was going on, as it was simply no longer a battle of wills, but also a battle of power and determination, one to keep the balance, and one to undermine the power of the resident god. Kurai wanted to win, he did not like it when someone else decided his fate, his destiny, he made his own, and he needed to prove it to Tentei.

So get more of his power to come out more freely, he transformed into his kirin form, which surprised the god. Tentei them responded to the somewhat blasphemous form by sending out waves of more and more power, growing in strength with each second that Kurai remained in his animagus state.

Once in his aimagus form, Kurai being more closely connected to his magical core, which was as limitless as the endless void, brought all of it forth. The battle of power grew in intensity with each passing second, each of the two combatants having to raise their power in response to the other.

A day later the people within the barrier could feel the power seep through the barrier that shielded them from the energies, it was something that Tentei had not counted on, Kurai unleashing, or simply jus having so much power at his beck and call. It was obvious that there were limits to Kurai's power, but Tentei knew that some of it could affect and undermine his should Kurai chose to.

"Who are you?" Tentei asked using the serpent as his temporary avatar and spokesperson or creature. He wanted to know the name of the being that dared to oppose his power, and rule, as well as his absolutivity.

"Kurai of Karasu," Kurai answered, he chose to answer as such due to his ravens referring to their collectiveness as such, they were contradictory crows as they were ravens, "I mean you no harm Tentei."

"Then cease this pointless battle with me," Tentei ordered the ceasation of the power struggle, "You are in my world, and must do as I see fit, and act in accordance with my laws!"

"If to live my life the way in which I wish to live it, I shall battle with you and all the rest of the higher powers of this world!" Kurai claimed, "I will not simply bow down to something that needs to know that free will is something not so easily curbed."

"This is my world! My rules are in place to ensure the balance in the world, the continued prosperity, and continuity of the existence in the world!" Tentei said, "Who are you to undermine something that has been around for too long a time for some simpleton such as yourself to comprehend?"

"I am not here to bring ruin to your creation, simply to live a new life as a part of it," Kurai said, "Crius and Kyonshi of the Crossworlds warned be about you, and granted me some powers that would equate me to a demi-god! I am not here to usurp you of your position, simply to live my own life."

"You lie! Why would two of the Gods of the Crossworlds favor you? What is so special about you that they would grant you such abilities?" Tentei asked in disbelief.

"I didn't ask, they just did," Kurai said.

"For me to believe that you mean my world no harm, answer my question," Tentei said.

"Fine, what is it?" Kurai asked.

"Who are you?" Tentei asked once again.

"Kurai of Karasu, chosen of Hourin, King of Hou, and formerly known as Harry Potter the-boy-who-lived," Kurai answered knowing that it would be possible for the god to use such information against him, "Satisfied?"

"Fine...do as you will, just don't attempt to usurp me or my heavenly host of our power and position," Tentei said.

"Thank you," Kurai said, not bowing.

"I leave you to your battle with the Jyouyou, it will shortly become a short one," Tentei said before leaving the lower plane of existence of his world.

The sudden loss of power was quickly filled in by a resounding clap of thunder that could be heard the world over, it was that loud, and that was how much power Tentei had expended in his battle of power with Kurai. The sudden loss of power, and the sudden exposure of the youma to Kurai's power gave Kurai the ability to quickly divine the youma's name, and conquer the beast.

"Orochi!" Kurai called out, finall capturing the massive serpent.

When Tentei released his power, Kurai's continued to soar, which caused the world and the heavens to shake when he recontained his immense well of power. He then floated down to the ship below him in animagus form, exhausted, his serpent servant circling the ship awaiting his orders.

The barrier had vanished as soon as Tentei's presence disappeared from the area. The people on the ship were surprised at the being that landed softly on the ship, it looked like a holy kirin, and yet not. It had battled with the massive serpent, and saved the inhabitants of the ship, and was presently napping on the deck of said ship. They were at a loss of what to do, not having heard the conversation, they knew not who or what Kurai really was.

Deep within the recesses of Kurai's tired mind, he mentally commanded Orochi to take the ship and her passengers to their port destination, a map of the route being sent via mental link to the youma. The youma quickly did as it was mentally commanded to, it went beneath the waves and placed the ship on its back, and swam to the port as fast as its lithe body could carry it.

It took only a few hours for the ship arrived at the port, the appearance of such a powerful youma scared the port inhabitants, making some think that something had happened to their surccessful ruler and his reign was soon to end or some such nonsense. They figure out that their kingdom was not in danger due to the giant serpent leaving port once it had deposited the ship at the harbor. Having shrunk itself somewhat in size, the serpent grabbed hold of its resting master from the deck of the ship and began to swim back to the kingdom of Tai.

'_Shrink a little further and join the Kiki at home til I return, I still have some exploring to do strike fear into my enemies while your at it,_' Kurai mentally told his newest and latest servant, '_Drop me back on the ship, and inform the passengers to keep my involvement a secret._'

'_As you command master,_' the serpent mentally replied and did as he was told.

Orochi left Kurai on the deck of the ship, and told the passengers of Kurai's request, which they promised to do, and then left for Tai. When Orochi left, and soldiers were about to board the ship, Kurai transformed back to his human form, which baffled the passengers. When the soldiers encountered his resting body on the deck of the ship they demanded an explanation as to why someone was lying asleep on the deck of the ship, not even leaning on one of the sides, but in the middle of the deck itself.

The passengers explanained that Kurai had passed out when he felt the power of the youma when they were still out at sea, the clash of the titans was supposedly too much for him to stay conscious. The soldiers believed the story, as Kurai made himself gradually look paler, and more sickly to properly blend in with the immigrants.

His unconscious form was brought to a nearby clinic and made to rest there, one or two of the passengers oted to stay with him, telling the soldiers that they were friends of the man, but in truth simply wanted to thank the being for protecting and helping them halfway through their journey.

It was two days later when Kurai awoke from his rest, at the side of his bed were the two former passengers that had decided to stay with him, they were glad that he was awake and whispered some thanks for him and only him to hear in accordance somewhat to his wishes.

"Your welcome," Kurai whispered back, his voice not sounding at all like that of someone who had not used it in two days, further solidifying in the minds of the former passengers his other worldliness, "We are in En, right?"

"Yes, we are, though now that you are awake, explaining your presence on the boat will be a little harder, as you do not have any proof of being a citizen of Tai, or other such," one of the two people said.

"That's alright, I'll just say that you picked me up out of the waters," Kurai just said.

"Making you a Kaiyaku, one that understands our language," the other person said.

"I suppose so, not that it would really matter, I'm sure that they wont look into the matter all that much," Kurai said sitting up, from his lying position.

A nearby doctor noticed that Kurai was awake and approached the trio.

"Ah good, your awake, your companions haven't left your side the whole two days that you were with us," the doctor said, "May I know your name to place it on the records?"

"Kurai," Kurai answered.

"Some of the soldiers asked me to ask you how you came to be aboard the ship since many claimed that they had never seen you before recently," the doctor said, then motioning to the two other people, "These two were among the few that claimed to be your friends."

"We..ah..picked him up from the sea," one of the two people said.

"Really..well I suppose it is a possibility," the doctor said accepting the answer, "Now that you are awake, you are free to leave, just make sure that you register yourself."

"Thank you doctor," Kurai said as the doctor left them, then he brought his attention to his two companions, "Thank you for staying with me, but I am afraid that after this we may never cross paths again."

"Why is that Kurai?" one of the two asked.

"I have a need to explore the world, and Ryuu is looking interesting this time of year," he answered.

"Ryuu has been in great and constant decline in the past ten years, or so people say, many youma have been sighted roaming the land," one of the two stated what he knew.

"I am aware, I think I may have something to do there, should I go there," Kurai said.

"So after saving us from that jyouyou, you would go to your doom? Why?" one of the two asked.

"I am more than I appear, it is the will of heaven that I go there," Kurai answered, hoping that that answer would make the two people worry less about him.

"Are you a sennin then?" one asked.

"No," Kurai answered, "I am something more."

"Fine, then since we will most likely not be able to persuade you into not going, at least bring a mercenary with you," the other said.

"I already have allies with me, no need to bring another mortal into harms way simply to defend me," Kurai said, hinting that he was indeed not mortal by normal standards. The discussion ended at that.


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer (1): This is a fan written work based on the works of J.K. Rowling. It might possibly also have some elements of a number of other works. There is no money being made from this, it is merely a work meant for the entertainment of myself and the masses. This is merely for fun, and no profit. I repeat: I am not making any money out of writing this.

Disclaimer (2): I also do not own anything that has to do with Juuni Kokki, Juuni Kokuki, Record of the Twelve Kingdoms, The Twelve Kingdoms. The only things that will probably be mine to claim are some of the names that will appear in the fic.

Warning: OCs OOCs Sues, and some crack. You have been warned.

Note 1: Post-DH Disclaimer (2) anime/novel Crossover

*****

*****

**CHANGE**

*****

**Chapter Eight**

*****

*****

After leaving the clinic he bid his farewell to the former passengers of the barge which he had protected from harm. He then made his way to the nearest place that he could find that sold kijyuu, and bought one that looked like a tiger, a white tiger. The port was located at the North-Eastern tip of the country, so he made his way along the coastline, when he was no longer within seeing distance of any one in the port town, and when he was sure that there was no one around in the land around him, he brought out a different black cheongsam, this one laden with loads of protective spells, and put them on. Then when he was done doing that, he brought out a broadsword, one that had four animals depicted on the crossguard, extending to the hilt. Depicted were a serpent, one that resembled or looked like a Jyouyou, a bird, looking like a hou-ou, a tiger, like the one that he had bought in exchange for some silver, and a turtle, technically it was a depiction of genbu which was positioned at the middle of the blade, and the three other animals. The serpent was at the western side of the crossguard, the bird was on the easter side of the crossguard, while the bird was the one connecting the hilt to the crossguard. The blade itself had something written on it, in parselscript, the words read _Never tickle a sleeping dragon_, which was inspired by Hogwarts somewhat. Even with all the betrayals he had apparently suffered within her walls, he still considered the castle as his first true home.

The next thing he pulled out of storage was a scabbard for the broadsword, this one was made of some sort of gray material, with some silver decorating it, as well as some more words written in silver, which read in parselscript _I solemnly swear I am up to no good_. He sheathed the sword in its scabbard after he took some experimental swings with it. The next set of weapons which he took out, were his longbow and some enchanted arrows, only needing some magic to get them to be used. The longbow was made of something akin to ivory, it was white in color, and in some places was bronze. The bow string was made out of dragon whiskers. The arrow tips were all made out of diamond for maximum penetration purposes. As a minor precaution, he took out a dagger with some special properties, it may have looked plain, but it had a hidden power, that being that it could heal instead of cause harm. But it could only heal minor injuries, and not life threatening ones, another thing to it was that it also needed some magic to power it, so attached to its hilt was a small crystal that could contain magic for situations that would need some to be used by the blade, should Kurai not be the one holding and using the blade.

Once he had all of his weapons and armor in place, the armor being the clothes, he added some protective spells to the fur coat of his kijyuu, as well as some spells that would grant the beast to summon some flames to appear on its paws. It already had the power to fly at its beck and call, so Kurai decided to simply give it those flames on its paws, as well as the power to spit out fireballs should it so chose.

He travelled on the ground rather than taking to the skies, a choice which rewarded him with some bandits to make short work of. Some of the bandits that he encountered did so along the coastline as no one was really there to guard against them. En may have been close to being a utopia, but there's nothing that is one hundred percent perfect in the world of the Twelve Kingdoms, or any world for that matter.

Most of the bandits had suffered loses, none of them being their lives, simply their pride and dignity at the hands and feet of Kurai who used what mastery of martial arts that he knew, not needing to draw any of his other weapons. The bandits hada habit of underestimating him due to his having only one clear eye, while the other one looked blind. They were proved wrong every time.

The border or wall border that separated each land the other had a few miles in between it and the other country's wall, this allowed there to be some nuetral or international land to be present in between the borders or making up the actual border. As Kurai was about to pass into these lands, he was warned by soldiers that there were wild youma in Ryuu, but he told them that he would be fine. All he needed was at his command, he told them.

So he made his way into the land, leading his kijyuu on foot, rather than riding it. He eventually stumbled on some people that were going to En from Ryuu, they told him that it was simply too much for them, they knew that they would not or could not survive another year or just another day with all the Youma around the land. The condition of the kingdom shifted from month to month, therefore making it hard to say whether the ruler was losing his touch or not. Gaining some ground, and losing some ground every month.

"I'm going to Ryuu, maybe confront some youma," Kurai informed one family of merchants, "Is there anyone there you would want me to check up on?"

"I have a son in the capital of Ryuu, he opted to stay and continue manning the family business," the head of the family told him, then handed him a letter, "Could you give him this letter, his name is Ikasu."

"I will find him, and hand him the letter," Kurai said, then before walking away he spoke again, "I hope to meet with you some other time in the future, Kotetsu."

"And I, you, Kurai," Kotetsu the head of the merchant family said.

After they parted, Kurai moved faster in the direction of the kingdom of Ryuu since he now had a real purpose for travelling to the country.

Getting into the country was easy, no passport needed as he simply snuck in in his animagus form, his kijyuu following him. The action confused the border guards as they were no expecting a kirin of all thing, albeit a weird and wounded looking one, to pass through their gates and into the country. The guards were so baffled by the apprach and appearance of the kirin, that they neglected to inform their superiors of it, and only remembered to do so a few days after Kurai had passed through.

Roamingaround Ryuu, Kurai found that many of the structures were hidden underground, it was simply too cold during the winters in the northern country for most people, which was why building was downward instead of upwards. Upon entering the country he was not immediately beset by youma, instead there were just the typical bandits. Those that were not dumb enough to underestimate him were treated with a little bit of respect, they were knocked unconscious instantly. While those that underestimated him due to his weak look were treated like insects to be crushed under the heel of his sandals. They were disposed off in a unique fashion, each one treated to a different punishment, some were hung by their thumbs, others were buried with only their heads sticking out of the ground. Others were found sporting some broken bones, and a few very lucky individuals were gifted with the use of only one arm or one leg. None of the bandits and robbers were killed. All of those that escaped capture began to spread rumors about Kurai, saying that there was someone trying to make a name for himself, one who travelled with a tiger kijyuu, and carried a broadsword and a longbow, but never needed to use them, they described him as a half blind warrior not to be underestimated.

His fame grew to the extent that after a few weeks of travelling around the country in search of the capital, his description had reached the capital. His reputation reached the capital long before he reached it. Which surprised him, for after a week or three of travelling, whenever he entered a settlement, he was instantly recognized, there were those that praised him, there were those that feared him, and there were those that wished to kill him, and threre were even those that planned on using him in their nefarious schemes.

None of those that wished him harm succeeded in harming him, none of those that wished to use him were able to make contact with him, those that tried to praise him for his work were unable to find him, those that did not seek him out were able to meet with him and converse with him.

He mostly talked about the country itself, and the living conditions of the people in wherever he was at the time. He asked about how the country was run, trying to divine the dos and don'ts that were done in order to keep the country as one of the leading nations for a few hundred years, wanting to possibly see what he would try to emulate when he officially took the throne of Hou, after locating his kirin of course, hopefully his kirin wasn't himself from the future, as that would create a few complications.

Whenever he visited a settlement, he didn't stay at an inn, he instead opted to stay outside the walls of the village or the city, choosing to commune with nature rather than to stay confined within the city walls, where there was more than people to worry about. There were the social, political, and socio-political machinations to deal with, and he wished to have no part in those things, yet. In the future he would have to face such things, but for the time being he did not want to have anything to do with such things.

He encountered a few people that were searching for mercenaries to accompany them around the country, but Kurai didn't want to join those kinds of events as he believed that it would be a waste of time and money for the people that would hire him, as he would have to fight more bandits and other people and things as compared to other mercenaries with lesser reknown than he.

But after two weeks of travelling around the country he found a caravan of merchants that claimed to be heading for the capital, Kurai decided to go with them, they accepted him especially since he said that he would go with them free of charge. He also thought to hide one of his most distiguishing features, his misty eye and scar, beneath some bandages, and he claimed that he had had an injury there some time ago, but would be able to fight. The ability to fight, as well as not being needed to be paid, got Kurai instantly hired, three or four other mercenaries were hired as well.

On the way to the capital, the caravan revealed themselves to not be carrying any valuable commodity, what were being protected instead were the people. Just the merchants were being protected, which was why they were more willing to part with their silver for protection for in these trying times, lives were more valuable than products, which sounded a bit sketchy seeing as the people that were willing to part with their silver for protection were merchants. Kurai figured that at least one of the merchants was a very important person, that had probably secretly gone with the caravan. Who ever that person was, Kurai wanted to find out, so he summoned a number of his ravens to himself, calling out to them mentally to fly their swiftest to him and the caravan to observe the people that were travelling with him, which would aid him in deducing who it was that he should focus his protections on.

People started noticing the ravens after a few days of their arrival around the caravan. Perched on trees along the path that they were taking, and some were perched on the caravan wagons as well. The merchants and other mercenaries knew not what it meant for them, but they knew that something was going on. Their slight paranoia helped Kurai divine who it was that was the most important person among the merchants, who it was that they were willing to spend their hard earned silver on.

As the merchant caravan decided to stop one night by a river, Kurai decided to act. He ordered his ravens to form a circle around the important person's wagon, the one in which the person usually hid in after the ravens started appearing, and following them. Due to it being dark since it was night, and the only light was that of the campfire, the mercenaries and the other merchants were unable to see the ravens perched around the wagon, nor did they notice Kurai make his way to that particular wagon.

"So mind telling me who you are?" Kurai asked the particular member of the caravan after entering the wagon.

"H-huh? W-what do you mean?" the person asked startled by the appearance of Kurai and by the question.

"I mean that I noticed that once the ravens started showing up, you've been more or less the center of protection of the other merchants," Kurai explained, "So mind telling me what's up with your extra security?"

"I-I don't know what you are talking about," the person said, thinking that the tone of voice used was a confident one.

"I know you know what I am talking about, so unless you want the other mercs to know the reason for their being hired, I suggest you fess up," Kurai mock threatened.

"Well if you know so much, why don't you tell me your assumptions, not that any of the things that you will say will be right," the person said.

"Are you sure about that?" Kurai said, "Tell me, do you know a man named Ikasu?"

"H-how..?" the person stammering asked.

"Do I know that name, let's just say that Kotetsu told me about him," Kurai said, "Now what is your relation to Ikasu?"

"I'm his daughter.." the girl told Kurai, admitting defeat.

"I see..so exactly what are we defending you from?" Kurai asked, curious about the answer.

"The Ryuu-o's men, he's been after me for the past fifteen years.." the girl said.

"Ahh..no wonder he's been losing and gaining ground for the past how many years.." Kurai said. He realized the reason for the gradual decline of the kingdom, the decisions of the king were made based on the opinions, advice and suggestions of greedy advisers and officials, all hoping to get something for themselves out of each thing that their monarch did. The ruler of Ryuu had been greatly infatuated by the still young merchant's daughter, and had decided to ask his advisers about how to go about getting the affections of the young woman. Though no longer young, she was still quite a beauty, worthy of the ruler's attention, but not wanting to have anything to do with him. The king had no experience concerning the matter of romance, and had relied totally on his officials to aid him in his quest. Due to his actions, and decisions, the officials gained more power in the kingdom, in some cases they were even able to go so far as to undermine the power of the king. He was simply a puppet, whose strings were being pulled by his appointed officials.

There was also the matter of many provincial officials that had grown corrupt over the years, and had been secretly doing their dirty business over the years. These officials had friends in the court, some of these people were actually even sennin themselves. Lining their pockets with bribes would get them rich, and so long as they were not removed from the list of immortals, they would be able to grow in wealth, and live the good life for years. The court officials made sure that their pockets were lined with more gold than the country's coffers, but also made sure to more or less balance their greed with some advice and suggestions that would keep their puppet in power, for as long as the people were still somewhat happy and content, then there would be no need to get adjusted to a new ruler anytime soon.

The Ryuu Taiho was usually away from the Royal Palace, kept away on business by the ruler of Ryuu himself, rarely was he able to advise his chosen ruler. With the kirin only present during public appearances, and ceremonies, it was no wonder that the people did not suspect anything was wrong, that anything was tampering with the will of heaven.

"What do you mean by that statement?" the girl asked.

"You are a pawn in a political power struggle," Kurai stated.

"A pawn? Political power struggle? What do you mean?" the girl asked baffled by what he had said.

"Ryuu-o's men aren't really the ones after you," Kurai explained, "It is the officials of the court that are, the ruler that had been ruling the land of Ryuu for a few hundred years has not been the same ruler for the past fifteen years. He has been but a pawn or puppet of the officials of the country."

"Okay, but what would an official gain by capturing me?" the girl asked.

"The official could claim that you had been kidnapped, and after a while, stating that he or she had a lead would request some more military power from the king, which would be granted all for the rescue of you, " Kurai elaborated.

"Then if you've figured this all out, are you going to hand me over to those people?" the girl asked, fearing for the possible answer.

"No," Kurai answered, "But don't worry, I seem to be the only one that has figured out your importance, the other mercs think of you as another paycheck."

"Huh?" she said.

"They're in it for the money, and not for anything else," Kurai said, "They accepted because they were offered a hefty sum, they aren't paid to think, but paid to fight, and fight they will."

"But what of you? What is your purpose of joining up with us?" the girl asked.

"I needed a sure way to get to the capital as it seems I have to deliver a letter to your father from your grandfather," Kurai said.

"Oh," the girl simply said, not expecting the answer she was given, "That's it? That's the only reason you joined up with us? And for free too?"

"Yes," Kurai admitted.

"Unbelievable," she said, "Can you really fight? Even with your injury?"

"You will find out when the mercenaries of the court official after you come for you, as I'm quite sure that they will," Kurai promised.

"How are you so sure that we will be attacked?" the girl asked, a little fearful of what might come.

"Its very logical, but do not fret, for I will be here to protect you," Kurai said.

"And what of those birds? They're black which is an omen. How can you promise to protect me with those things around the caravan?" she asked.

"Oh those? They're my servants you could say," Kurai said as he left the wagon, and entered the darkness of the camp, the sound of flapping wings being heard.


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer (1): This is a fan written work based on the works of J.K. Rowling. It might possibly also have some elements of a number of other works. There is no money being made from this, it is merely a work meant for the entertainment of myself and the masses. This is merely for fun, and no profit. I repeat: I am not making any money out of writing this.

Disclaimer (2): I also do not own anything that has to do with Juuni Kokki, Juuni Kokuki, Record of the Twelve Kingdoms, The Twelve Kingdoms. The only things that will probably be mine to claim are some of the names that will appear in the fic.

Warning: OCs OOCs Sues, and some crack. You have been warned.

Note 1: Post-DH Disclaimer (2) anime/novel Crossover

*****

*****

**CHANGE**

*****

**Chapter Nine**

*****

*****

The merchant caravan was a week away from the capital, had they chosen to just keep moving forward, they would not have encountered any problems, but as luck would have it, the leaders of the caravan chose to rest before moving forward. With only being a week away from the city, and not having encountered anything from bandits to youma, they were confident that nothing and no one would disturb their peace, not even the presence of the ominous birds detered them from making such a decision.

The mercenaries didn't really care all that one bit, so long as they were paid in full at the end of the journey they were content. The other merchants didn't care either way, they still had their earnings, and it was only the leaders that knew why there was a need for the mercenaries, a reason which they cared not to know. The daughter of Ikasu, who was named Ikari, was quite grew tense when it was announced that they would be setting up camp and resting for the rest of the day and the night. She remembered Kurai's promise, she feared the battle which was sure to come, even though she was a little reassured that the half-blind warrior would protect her. One of her prevailing thoughts was, how would a half-blind person hope to protect her from whatever it was, or who ever it was that would be attacking the camp any time now.

Kurai, and his kijyuu which he named Hyakko, sat beside Ikari's wagon. While Hyakko slept, Kurai unwrapped his hidden weapons, and unbound the bandages covering half of his face. He also slowly regained a healthy complexion, all of which he did in anticipation of the attack that was sure to come. He did not bother sending out his ravens, instead he reabsorbed them into his body, he remerged them with his self. He welcomed the fun that was sure to commence once dusk turned to dark, and the camp went from bustling to snores.

Kurai didn't need his ravens to tell him when the attack would take place, he already knew. For he too would chose to attack when everyone was more or less defenseless, taking out the mercenaries in their sleep before systematically eliminating the rest of the crew, before heading for their prize or in this case target.

Every now and then, Ikari would peek out of her wagon, and look for Kurai, and she would always find him near her wagon, but she failed to notice that with each passing glance, he changed somewhat. He changed from a weak and sickly looking man to a healthy looking individual with weapons a plenty, and ready and willing to do battle.

After dusk turned to dark, and after supper had ended. The mercenaries decided to sleep close to one another, while the merchants went into their wagons to sleep. While they were doing that, Kurai extended his senses outward, and felt for the approach of the mercenary army that was supposed to come, and he was not disappointed. Upon sensing their approach, he feigned sleep, as did Hyakko, but not before alerting his charge to the approaching danger and ordering her to stay within her wagon, she could watch the outside fomr within, but she was not to leave the safety of the wagon, no matter what, unless he told her otherwise.

They came out from the blackness, little more than a hundred mercenaries crept silently as they could through the camp seeking out the four mercenaries, and slitting their throats one by one. Once that deed was done, a group of them headed for the other wagons. These mercenaries had a picture of Ikari, the person that they were supposed to snatch, so they looked for her among the other wagons. Not finding her in any of the other wagons, they approached the remaining wagon to be checked. The mercenaries did not slay any of the other merchants as they had not yet gotten rid of the remaining person with weapons on his person. They had sent scouts to see how many defenders there were in the camp during the day, and they needed to make sure that all posssibly threats to them were taken care of before they could start the massacre and kidnapping.

When they found him, one of the mercenaries approached him with sword drawn, silently walked up to him, and prepared to deliver the killing blow to whom he thought was a sleeping and defenseless man. No one was more surprised than the man intent on killing Kurai with happened next. There was a spray of blood, drenching the nearest mercenaries with its metallic smell and taste. The mercenary lost his head with a shocked expression on his face, not knowing how to react as he witnessed a blade come from out of nowhere and separated his head from his body.

Following the first death, the closest nineteen mercenaries died by allowing their heads to be split into two with arrows shot from a longbow, which was quite a feat. After witnessing twenty of their comrades go down without a fight, the rest grew cautious as they did not know what they were up against, each drew their weapons and prepared for battle. But even with their weapons drawn, they were no match for Kurai.

From within her wagon Ikari watched as Kurai ran with inhuman speed at a group of about five mercenaries and swiftly separated their legs from the rest of their bodies, then quickly made his way to another group of five and split them in half from crotch going upwards.

In less than a minute thirty of the hundred or so mercenaries had fallen to Kurai and his weapons. Within seconds after the first thirty kills another ten lost their lives, five of which were cut into six pieces, while the other five lost their faces as Kurai smashed the hilt of his sword through their heads. Another ten were lost afterward, each of their hearts skewered on an arrow shaft, and being consumed by Hyakko who sat awake and idly by Ikari's wagon.

Within the span of a while minute, fifty people had lost their lives to Kurai.

The remaining mercenaries got back their senses after they witnessed fifty of their number be reduced to corpses. Each man swore revenge and rushed Kurai, each intent on relieving his head from his shoulders.

Kurai danced around each and every slash, swipe, and thrust aimed at him. He then disemboweled ten men in succussion.

"Too slow," he told the dead mercenaries before resuming his killing spree.

Ten more men fell prey to his blade, Ikari knew not how it happened, but ten men were reduced to crispy husks of their former human selves, they had been turned into mere remnants of what was once a human body, one which contained a soul. The area around the bodies was scorched so much that plants would probably not be able to grow there for a few years at least. Following those ten men, Kurai slammed his palm into the solar plexus of ten more men in succession, each having their ribcages shattered, their diaphrams destroyed, and their hearts annihilated completely, as well as their bodies being blown back into some of their still living comrades at arms.

Ten of the mercenaries had managed to slip past Kurai's guard and were able to make their way to Ikari's wagon. She remembered the words of Kurai, and did not try to flee her wagon hoping that somehow she would escape unscathed. Kurai noticing the ten that had gotten past him flung out one arm. The action surprised the twenty-one that were attacking him, but the ten that were about to snatch Ikari from within her wagon were more surprised than the ones fighting Kurai as they were suddenly bombarded by an unkindness of ravens, all of which were out for blood. When the ravens were through with them, all that was left were their bones, clean of any meat or anything else for that matter.

"Hyakko, you lazy kijyuu, do something!" Kurai shouted to his lazing pet. Hyakko responded by burping five fireballs which roasted five men alive, before running out of power and leaving half burnt bodies on the ground. Having done his share, the tiger went back to devouring his human hearts.

The remaining sixteen didn't know what to do, or what to think, they were fighting a man that had taken out nearly a hundred men within the span of a few minutes, something which they had thought to be impossible. There was no way that they were facing someone human, some of their thoughts went so far as to think that they were fighting some sort of youma.

While the sixteen remaining men were paralyzed in fear, Kurai did not hesitate in continuing his attack. Thrusting his sword forward, he skewered two men. He punctured their lungs, and with the sword still embedded in their bodies, he slashed sideward slicing through the other lung, and taking the men's hearts with it, the sword coming out of the sides of the two men's bodies simultaneously.

After seeing another two of their number lose their lives, three of the not paying attention to their opponent men died. Each one instantly losing their lives after Kurai simply touching them with a hand. Ikari was able to see some kind of green energy be ejected from Kurai's hand to the bodies of the three men.

The remaining eleven men had only one thing on their minds as they witnessed three of their number die at just a touch from what they perceived as some really dangerous and new youma. So they did the only thing else that they could tihnk of, they ran.

Kurai not wanting his skills to be known to the upper class of society, did not run after the men, instead bright colored light flew from his open palm and impacted on the backs of ten of the fleeing men. Each one was turned into stone, they were still as statues. Flinging the same hand from which the lights had flown out of, ten blades flew from his hand, Ikari didn't care to know where they came from, but she knew that they had suddenly appeared. Each one had a metal chain attached to it, the blades went through the ten statue, and Kurai grabbed hold of the chains before they left him completely, and pulled. Each of the solidified, paralyzed, or otherwise statue-fied men were pulled in the direction of Kurai, when each one got close enough, the man shattered, his blood and guts covering the camp floor.

The remaining man thought that he had actually managed to escape Kurai, and decided to rest for a little bit before reporting to the man that had hired him. His decision was what doomed him. Ikari was not able to witness exactly what Kurai had done. But she did witness Kurai simply vanish from view.

Kurai reappeared directly infront of the last member of the mercenary army, scaring the man, and putting a fear into him so bad, that the man could have died of fright, had something not been keeping him alive, whatever was he did not know, all he knew was that he was not going to be able to make it out of the encounter alive, he even believed that his soul was also the only one out of the one hundred and twenty one mercenaries' souls that would not be able to pass on to the afterlife or even be reincarnated. He wholeheartedly believed that his soul would be swallowed up by the monster infront of him. The one that had more or less single handedly decimated his army.

Kurai was smiling the whole while that he performed his gruesome deed, he let out a part of himself that he had caged long ago, his sadistic side was let lose on the man before him.

He lifted the man into the air with his power, then proceeded to rip the skin off of the man, one piece at a time, the only fleshy part that was kept intact was the man's face. Kurai had plans for the man's face, he would use it sometime in the future. The next thing he did was tear off one muscle off of the man at a time, followed by boiling one organ at a time while it was still found within the body of the man. After each of the organs was no longer usable or salvageable, he threw needles as if they were darts, and burst what remained of the organs. Somehow the man was still alive after that experience.

Belief is a very powerful thing, it can sometimes make the impossible possible, this time was one of those times. The only thing of the man remaining aside from his bones was his soul. The only piece remaining of the man that was alive. It was also the last thing that Kurai toyed with.

After destroying Voldemort, one of the topics that Kurai had decided to study and understand was the soul, and after reading many books on the topic, from philosophical to magical books on the subject, he knew some ways on how to torture a man, and eventually destroy his soul, shattering it for all eternity. The karma backlash from such an action was immense, but Kurai supposed that such rules did not really apply to him in this new world of his. He'd paid enough for an eternity's worth of wrongs, wrongs that he was had not even commited.

After burning everything that belonged to the man, and after torturing the soul, he buried the man's bones, while at the same time trapping the man's soul within his bones, and cursing him to haunt the area in which the campsite was situated for all eternity, or until someone properly buried his bones along with the what became of his heart. The man's heart was the only organ that had not turned to ash, instead it had turned into a crystal shaped like an egg, it was blood red in color, and if a person were to hold it, they would swear to have felt the crystallized heart beating.

Having finished his business with all the mercenaries and would be kidnappers of his charge, he returned to camp, and informed Ikari that it was now safe to leave the comfort of her wagon. Whe she did she noticed that his clothes, and his weapons were absent of any traces of blood, guts, or gore. Kurai did not look like he had just come from a battle.

"Go to sleep Ikari, we leave at first light, let your companions think what they will, but I will not let you remain with simpletons such as they," Kurai said, then informed her of his plans to take her to the capital, with her in charge of directions, once the darkness turned to dawn.


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer (1): This is a fan written work based on the works of J.K. Rowling. It might possibly also have some elements of a number of other works. There is no money being made from this, it is merely a work meant for the entertainment of myself and the masses. This is merely for fun, and no profit. I repeat: I am not making any money out of writing this.

Disclaimer (2): I also do not own anything that has to do with Juuni Kokki, Juuni Kokuki, Record of the Twelve Kingdoms, The Twelve Kingdoms. The only things that will probably be mine to claim are some of the names that will appear in the fic.

Warning: OCs OOCs Sues, and some crack. You have been warned.

Note 1: Post-DH Disclaimer (2) anime/novel Crossover

*****

*****

**CHANGE**

*****

**Chapter Ten**

*****

*****

Morning had broken like the first morning, the merchants noticed too late that their charge, the daughter of their master was no where in sight, and the mercenaries that they had hired had been killed in their sleep. But as they surveyed the camp site, they soon noticed that a battle had occurred while they were asleep, somehow they were no awakened by the fighting that was sure to have taken place based on the evidence of bodies and pieces of them having been strewn about the ground. There was also a surprising lack of blood, as if something had absorbed all the blood. They also noticed that the half blind warrior that they had allowed to travel with them was missing. They thought that the worst had come to pass, in their haste to make a bargain, they had allowed someone into their circle, who had betrayed them and kidnapped the one that they were protecting.

As the first rays of sunlight lit up the land where the camp was situated, Kurai had immediately grabbed hold of Ikari and swung her up on his back, then mentally ordered his ravens and Hyakko to fly in the direction of the capital, the ravens were sent ahead to make sure that the direction was correct and that they did not get lost. Hyakko left after the ravens were no longer within sight of Kurai and Ikari.

With Ikari on his back, Kurai transformed into his animagus form and flew into the sky, surprising the girl, she hadn't expected him to have such a form, or for him to be something akin to a youma himself. She would have screamed and shouted in surprise had Kurai not put up a sound barrier around the two of them. Silence was the key to stealth, and Kurai did not want to attract too much attention to himself.

"Stop panicking, or you might lose your balance and fall off of me," Kurai told Ikari as after three hours she was still in a panicked state. But upon hearing his voice, and his words she was forced into calming down, as if his words were mixed in with some magic, which they were but she didn't need to know that.

"Now that you've calmed down a bit, you might want to try and enjoy yourself," Kurai told her after he felt her calm down somewhat, "It is rare for anyone to be allowed to ride on my back of all places."

"..." she would have said something but she was still under a silencing spell as Kurai was not sure if his sound barrier would be able to contain her voice.

"Oh, I must have forgotten about that," Kurai realized that he had forgotten that he had placed a silencing spell on her, so he removed it, "You may speak your mind now."

"W-what did you do to me? W-what are you?" Ikari asked him.

"I silenced you, took away your ability to speak as I didn't want you to alert the whole world of our presence in the skies," Kurai said, "As for what I am...hmm...hard to explain that..."

"Hmph..fine..don't tell me..it's not like I wont find out anyway," Ikari mumbled childishly.

"I wonder if you really will...hmm.." he said to himself, then noticed something travelling parallel to him on the ground below them. The shape of the creature was familiar but he couldn't place where he had seen it before.

"What's grabbed your interest?" Ikari asked him after noticing that he was paying attention to somethin on the ground, seeing what it was she couldn't help it she exclaimed, "A Kirin!"

"So that's why it looked so familiar.." he said absentmindedly.

"You've seen a kirin before?" she asked him, then realized that his present form resembled the creature that was travelling on foot down below them, "Kurai..are you a kirin too?"

"No..you witnessed me kill last night, kirins can't stand the sight and smell of blood," he answered and explained.

"Oh..then what are you?" she asked.

"I am going to fly down there, and we are going to confront that kirin," he said in response to her question, though not exactly answering her, and did indeed descend. Before reaching the gallop he moved his legs as if he were galloping, then when he reached the ground he simply continued to run, which allowed him to eventually catch up to the kirin. Once he was beside the kirin, he noticed that something was definitely wrong with the creature.

"Ikari, get off, something is wrong with the kirin," he told his rider, ad slowed down to a trot to allow her to get of his back, after which he ran to catch up to the visibly unwell kirin.

He was able to move faster without having to worry about a person riding his back. He fast enough that he was not even a blur, but seemed as if he had simply disappeared and reappeared infront of the running kirin which stopped in its tracks when confronted by the sight of the blood flowing down Kurai's head.

"You seem weakened..is something wrong with Ryuu-o?" Kurai asked the kirin.

"I...he is slowly sliding down a path of destruction.." Ryuuki answered weakly.

"Do you think that the ruler and the country's future can still be salvaged?" Kurai asked.

"Everything is possible," Ryuuki answered.

"If you say so...So are you by any chance heading for the capital or are you going somewhere else?" Kurai asked, his blood falling to the ground slightly freaking out the kirin.

"I am returning to the palace, I need to report to my master," Ryuuki said, trembling slightly due to the blood, even though it evaporated upon contact with the ground, it still managed to freak out the kirin.

Footsteps were heard coming from the direction that Ikari had been left at. A moment passed and she appeared behind the kirin, and she too noticed for the first time the blood steadily flowing down Kurai's face.

"A-are you okay, Kurai?" she asked him concerned, not knowing what the bleeding meant.

"I'm fine, the bleeding always happens when I am in this form," Kurai said trying to reassure her of his good health, "Ryuuki is headed for the capital, would you like to accompany him on his journey?"

"Um..I can chose?" Ikari asked skeptical at the prospect of Kurai allowing her to chose whether or not to accompany the kirin on his journey back to his master, someone whom Ikari did not want to meet.

"Not really," Kurai said, then he returned his attention to the kirin, "I can tell from your physical appearance that you have long been suffering from shitsudou." Shitsudou being a sickness that only kirin suffer from, and will only catch the sickness should the ruler of the kingdom lose his or her way, his or her reason to govern, or begin to stop governing the kingdom properly. It is mostly an incurable disease, as the recovery of the kirin is dependent on the constitution of the ruler. Should the kirin die before the ruler, than the ruler will die shortly after, the life of the ruler shall drain away and vanish in less than a year's time. But should the ruler die before the kirin, the kirin will recover and live on, and will seek out one to replace the one that was lost. The ruler of a kingdom as well as the kirin are both immortal beings, but are only immortal in the sense that they can not die of old age and of any sicknesses, aside from shitsudou for the kirin. But they can still be killed should their heads be separated from their bodies, or they be cut in half. Sennin had a similar fate, once turned into an immortal an individual stopped aging just, in a way the ruler of a country was like a sennin. But unlike the ruler, a sennin could lose his or her immortality if the ruler chose to revoke such a power or position or privilege.

"But Ryuu-o has been able to return to a just ruler after every bout of..." Ryuuki was unable to finish his sentence as the sight and smell of blood was simply too much for him, and he nearly collapsed.

"Kurai, maybe you should become human again?" Ikari suggested.

At the suggestion, Kurai lazily reverted back to a human, which visibly calmed the kirin, but at the same time frightened him as he had never encountered such a being before in his life.

"W-what are you?" Ryuuki asked the very same question that Kurai had yet to honestly provide Ikari with an answer to.

"A red kirin spoke to me in a dream," was all that Kurai would say, and was surprised that he knew the hair color of his kirin, Hourin, red. Potters and their red heads.

"T-there has never been a red kirin...yet you speak the truth..who are you..?" Ryuuki said, not detecting a lie. The admittance of the uniqueness of the kirin that Kurai spoke of did not go unnoticed by the Ikari, and with different reasons also by Kurai.

"My name is Kurai, and that is all you need to know," Kurai said, "After you've rested, we'll begin the journey, I'll summon my kijyuu and servants to help us travel faster."

"Alright, but could you please refrain from being in the form that constantly sheds blood?" Ryuuki requested.

"Sure, its not the only alternate form that I have," Kurai said. The information was not something that Kurai's two companions had been expecting, they had been expecting him to say that they would all be walking, or that possibly he would be riding his kijyuu or be carried by his ravens.

'_Find me..we have company..the good kind,_' Kurai informed Hyakko and his ravens mentally.

The black birds and tiger found the trio by sunset, the arrival prompted a few questions to form in Ryuuki's head, but before he could ask any of them, Kurai beat him to the punch.

"I can communicate mentally with my servants, it is one of my skills, where are your shirei by the way? Why have you not had them help you?" Kurai asked the two questioned as he realized that he had yet to encounter even one of the usually protective shirei that all kirin had with them, or even Ryuuki's nyokai which was the beast born before the kirin was born to oversee its protection.

"I..they..have all lost their lives protecting me in my ever weakening state.." Ryuuki mournfully admitted, "And I am in no state to find replacements..."

"..Not even your nyokai...I'll help you find yourself some new shirei..if that's okay with you Ikari," Kurai stated.

"I don't mind, it can't be that dangerous can it?" she asked, not really knowing how kirin went about acquiring their protectors.

"Depending on the youma that we will encounter, the experience can go from boring to lethal, but since you've given the OK, we'll do it as soon as I find some prey.." Kurai said, then he directed his ravens to scour the nearby land of any dens or nest of youma.

He sat himself down beside the resting kirin and merchant's daughter, then connected himself with the ravens as they searched for possible shirei for Ryuuki. There were many youjyuu, but there was no sign of any youma in the area, or it was possibly due to the ruler getting back to governing properly for the time being, which could cause some minor youma to vanish without a trace for some reason.

But even if something like that was possible, it was still more or less impossible for the youma to have vanished from the country so quickly, he just knew that there was a youma or two present in the area somewhere, and he just had to lure it, or them out.

"There are youma near here, I can feel their presence, but I can not seem to find them..." Kurai informed Ryuuki.

"That's alright, its not like I have the strength for a battle of will with strong ones at the moment," Ryuuki admitted resignedly.

"As I said before, I'm going to help you get some shirei, so strength or no, I will help you," Kurai said with conviction as well as a promise in his tone.

After a few more minutes of searching through the eyes of his ravens, Kurai decided to join the search as well. He extended his senses all around him to try and detect the actual whereabouts of the monsters. After some minutes of trying, he found them, they were deep underground, right below him actually of all place, and they appeared to be battling, a battle for dominance or something more, Kurai didn't really care all that much about their petty squabble.

His preoccupation transferred to how to get to the two battling behemoths. There had to be a way to get to them without revealing all the tricks he had up his sleeves, or revealing the a few more tricks that he had at his disposal. While he was sure that Ryuuki could keep his secrets, the kirin could still be ordered by the king to spill the beans, which would make it an order, one which the kirin would be forced by the will of heaven to obey.

Kurai did not need to seek out a solution for the problem he was in, somehow something had decided to solve his problem for him. The two underground behemoths had managed to shatter a pillar of stone, one which kept the underground cavern they were in whole, intact, as well as keeping the cavern from caving in. In the end, Kurai found himself face to face with two youma that looked like polar bears with a pair of horns on their heads, both of which were growling menacingly at him. He paid them no mind as he knew that they were no match for him should he have chosen to deal with them. But luckily for them, he needed them alive.

Kurai instead looked around the fallen cavern for any sign of Ikari and Ryuuki's whereabouts, not bothering to even find Hyakko as he knew that the kijyuu would know to keep himself out of trouble. He eventually found the two safely on the back of Hyakko, Ryuuki having been forced into his human form just in time to save his life from possibly being crushed to death.

"Hyakko bring them over here, Ryuuki needs to tame these two," Kurai called out to his noble steed, which did not dare go near the two youma. Kurai noticed the hesitation and unwillingness to go anywhere nearer to the two formerly battling youma, and so he decided to do something about the snarling behemoths that were two times the size of grizzly bears.

Ikari and Ryuuki watched in fear and fascination as Kurai walked closer to the snarling beasts, avoiding their furious swipes and attempts to separate his head from his shoulders. They watched as he cocked his right fist back and sent the two bears flying back in pain, after each one being smacked on their noses hard. This action was followed by spin kicks to their temples, and being kneed in their solar plexuses. The two bears did not stand a chance against Kurai, who wore a bored expression on his face, the two bears seeming to be all bark and no bite, or in their case all growl.

"Ryuuki stop being so modest and do your thing, before I make you," Kurai threatened, wanting to know how the imperious curse would fare against the mind of a kirin, but alas his wish was not granted as Ryuuki fell from Hyakko's back, he was sitting behind Ikari as not to expose himself to her, and landed on the ground, the dust cloud hiding his privates from view. Deciding to act a little merciful, Kurai threw him a cloak, which was then draped around the kirin before he slowly made his way to the two confused oversized polar bears.

"Rin Byou Tou Sha Kai Jin Retsu Zen Gyou!" the kirin said with a hint of confidence in his voice, followed by the second part of the incantation as he really could not tell if he had gotten the youmas' attentions, "Shinchoku Meichoku, Tensei Chisei, Jinkun Seikun, Fuo Fudaku, Kimi Koubuku, Onmyou Wagou, Kyuu Kyuu Nyo Ritsu Ryou!"

After the last word was said he immediately was able to divine the names of the two youma, for some powerful youma, they gave their names up far too quicky.

"Kurokuma! Shirokuma!" he called them by their names, and the two bears visibly calmed down and relaxed, as if they were held in some sort of restrain of something of the like. In truth, Kurai had placed a confudus jinx on them, and kept it on them so as to give Ryuuki an easier time in capturing them.

"You did something to them, didn't you," Ryuuki accused Kurai.

"Of course I did, if I hadn't you'd be dead right now," Kurai said, "I did say that I would help you get some new shirei, didn't I."

"Yes...yes you did...now..how about getting to the capital?" Ryuuki asked.

"Sure..sure..we'll leave tomorrow, I'm sure that you are simply far too tired to do any travelling," Kurai said.


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer (1): This is a fan written work based on the works of J.K. Rowling. It might possibly also have some elements of a number of other works. There is no money being made from this, it is merely a work meant for the entertainment of myself and the masses. This is merely for fun, and no profit. I repeat: I am not making any money out of writing this.

Disclaimer (2): I also do not own anything that has to do with Juuni Kokki, Juuni Kokuki, Record of the Twelve Kingdoms, The Twelve Kingdoms. The only things that will probably be mine to claim are some of the names that will appear in the fic.

Warning: OCs OOCs Sues, and some crack. You have been warned.

Note 1: Post-DH Disclaimer (2) anime/novel Crossover

*****

*****

**CHANGE**

*****

**Chapter Eleven**

*****

*****

They had made it to the capital in record time, which was two days before the caravan did. When Kurai finally met Ikasu he was forced to accept a small sack filled with gold as thanks for protecting his daughter. Ikasu had made absolutely sure that there was no way that Kurai could refuse the generous reward, especially after hearing Ikari's tale about Kurai helping the Ryuu Taiho tame two youma. Ikasu, forcefully, offered his home for Kurai to stay in while he stayed in the capital.

It took a while for Kurai to get used to such treatment, he did not feel all calm about the treatment and actually found it quite suspicious. The amount of gold that was given to him, as well as the lack of witnesses save for Ikari, could in the future cause him to be forced to stay, or do whatever it was that he suspected that Ikasu had planned. There must have been something in the letter, or possibly simply the presence of the letter that had caused Ikasu to act the way he was acting. He did not act at all like a merchant, he appeared too generous, even for a man worried about and greatful for the safe return of his daughter. There was something missing, and Kurai planned on figuring out what it was, luckily Ikari had not told her father about Kurai's ravens, and the tricks he had up his sleeves.

Kurai was not expressly forbidden from wandering around the city, he was simply warned about the dangers that were present in the city at all times nowadays. Not only was there a special unit of solders in charge of kidnapping people off of the streets for _questioning_, but there were also the numerous sightings of youma that attacked even the capital itself every now and then. The close proximity to the palace and the presence of the kirin no longer having much of an effect on the monsters that preyed on the near helpless citizens.

While first left the home that he had been coerced into staying in, Ikasu read the contents of the letter. He had been waiting for his guest to leave his home in order for him to be sure that his guest would not find out about the contents of the letter. The letter itself did not make him act in the way that he did, but the reason behind his father having someone hand him the letter. It was a symbolic gesture that told Ikasu that Kotetsu had divined or chosen Kurai as the one that would bring a more real semblance to stability, and allow the country to have a chance of moving forward.

Ikasu had not really chosen to stay, rather, his father had ordered him to stay, and make sure that when a warrior was found that could topple the government then he would be the one to manipulate the person into doing such a thing, so as not to stain the person's conscience at committing such a grave sin as assassination.

The contents of the letter simply stated that the man that brough the letter was one of great skill power, and confidence, and since Ikari had told the tale of how Kurai had aided in the taming of two youma, Ikasu was forced into believing. He did not know how his father knew who was meant to do certain things, he just knew that his father had an uncanny ability to tell a person's _destiny_ by just speaking with him or her.

After disposing of the letter, Ikasu left his house, after informing his daughter that he had a business meeting to attend to. He walked at a semi-fast pace to the home of one of his business associates, the associate was a Hanjyuu named Okugi, a hanjyuu being a half-beast which was someone born with the shape of an animal yet having the ability to turn into a human, they were like animagi, cept they were born with the ability. Okugi had the form of a lizard-snake thing, and was not only a merchant, but also one of the members of the local resistance and rebellion organization that opposed the rule of the King due to the way things were at the present time. The country was suffering, but they had no way of convincing their ruler that things were bad, since all the court officials, or most of them anyway, were pulling the strings using the ruler's inexperience with emotional matters, and matters of the heart. They ran the country as the shadow kings of Ryuu, the ruler being oblivious to their schemes, thinking that he was still doing the right thing.

The officials were crafty and sneaky, as soon as they figured out that there was a middle ground where they could be corrupt but at the same time keep their ruler in power. After finding this corrupt balance they fortified their assets making sure that no one with thoughts of rebellion could get by them and go straight to the ruler, and complain or something like that.

"What do you have for me this time Ikasu?" Okugi asked his long time business associate and friend as the man walked in through his door.

"My father sent me a letter," Ikasu said, "We've got our man, all we need is how to convince him that the ruler needs to be gotten rid of."

"The one that brought your daughter and the Ryuu Taiho back?" Okugi questioned.

"The same one, but I don't think he's a mercenary, as it took some of my negotiation skills to convince him to accept the reward I had given him," Ikasu said.

"I'm sure there must be a way," Okugi said, "What is his purpose in being in the capital of all places?"

"He wouldn't say. Why, do you think that that could be the bargaining chip we need?" Ikasu wondered.

"Possibly," Okugi said, "We can offer to help him in his quest should he do us a favor."

"I'll get right to it, as soon as I figure out how to get the information out of him," Ikasu said.

"And I'll have some of my people tail him," Okugi said.

"Good luck to the both of us then," Ikasu said before leaving his friend, but not before dropping a piece of paper with the description of Kurai on the nearest table, just in case Okugi needed to remember what he looked like.

While Ikasu had his meeting with Okugi, Kurai made his way to the military district of the city, wanting to see what he would be up against should he decide to end the suffering of the kirin that he now viewed as a friend. A new ruler would take a while to find, but at the rate things were going, it looked like a short term solution was in order. But he couldn't make a move yet, for there was a possibility that the locals were planning something, and simply waiting for the perfect moment to strike. So he would wait for someone else to make the first move before he made his, or for someone to force him to make the first move or something like that.

He snuck around the military facilities that were present in the city, and had his ravens stay on the lookout for anyone either heading in his direction or simply looking more suspicious than he did. He wanted to know what the opposition consisted of, as well as if anyone was doing as he was which was spying.

He found that the there were more mercenaries than there were actual soldiers, all of whom seemed to be on the payroll, not of the ruler, but of one of the court aids and advisors, as well as some of the provincial governors, and other officials. There were very few people that were actually loyal to the king. The revelation was something that Kurai was half expecting.

There were a number of horses and kijyuu around, all of which were ready to move at a moment's notice, the officials were probably really paranoid, or there was a real threat to their power and he had yet to uncover it.

Before he could move on, one of his sentries had alerted him to the presence of another individual snekaing about, but the person was not snooping around the military places, but was actually trailing him, someone had the audacity to spy on him of all people. The question was why, why him and not the military.

The presence of the other spy, of the person tailing him, was the proof he needed that there was another side to the conflict to come, but there was still an unknown variable. That unknown variable was the answer to the question of whose side were they on, the officials, or his side, not that anyone knew that he had a side.

So he mentally ordered half of his ravens to keep their eyes on the person, then continued his observation of the military personnel. When he was satisfied, he simply disappeared, not really enjoying the feeling of apparation, he went by one of the other means of teleportation that he knew, that being discharing some dark purple energy which engulfed him and dropped him off at some other place of his choosing. His hope was that his pursuer would be baffled by his sudden and mysterious disappearance, Nightcrawler's teleportation trick was just too noticeable with that Bamf sound, so Kurai tweaked it a bit, and removed the sound.

He reappeared at the base of the mountain, or pillar, upon which the royal palace was situated on. Looking up he with regular vision he could not see the summit, but he knew that the thing simply went straight up. He could get in easily, but it would not do for him to simply barge in, he would give the soldiers the chance to defend whom so ever it was that they had sworn their allegiance to. He was simply mapping how he would get to the palace when the time to strike was at hand.

When he was done, he returned to Ikasu's abode, and went to his designated room to rest for the day, not bothering to eat anything, not that he needed to as it were. But before catching some shut eye he mentally ordered his ravens to keep watch over the house, and alert him of the arrival of any suspicious characters, if any, that would be looking for him.


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer (1): This is a fan written work based on the works of J.K. Rowling. It might possibly also have some elements of a number of other works. There is no money being made from this, it is merely a work meant for the entertainment of myself and the masses. This is merely for fun, and no profit. I repeat: I am not making any money out of writing this.

Disclaimer (2): I also do not own anything that has to do with Juuni Kokki, Juuni Kokuki, Record of the Twelve Kingdoms, The Twelve Kingdoms. The only things that will probably be mine to claim are some of the names that will appear in the fic.

Warning: OCs OOCs Sues, and some crack. You have been warned.

Note 1: Post-DH Disclaimer (2) anime/novel Crossover

Legend: # denotes change of time, while * denotes change of scene/perception/POV/center of attention

*****

*****

**CHANGE**

*****

**Chapter Twelve**

*****

*****

"I followed him to the military district," a common looking person said.

"And..?" Okugi asked the person he had sent out to tail Kurai that day.

"He simply spied on the place, as if familiarizing himself with the layout," the person said, "Is it possible that he has been told of the deed that we are planning for him to commit?"

"Ikasu would not be so careless as to reveal such plans to a stranger before the time is right," Okugi said, "He's a merchant, he knows when to do things, is there anything else?"

"When he was done, he simply disappeared, I was unable to find him, but I was able to track him back to Ikasu's place," the person said, "I don't know how he did it though."

"An unknown measure of skill...hmm...Kotetsu really knows how to pick 'em," Okugi mused, "When he leaves again tomorrow, which he will, I want you to tail him again, its possible that he has another reason for being here."

"I shall do as I am ordered," the person said, then left Okugi to his thoughts.

Okugi pondered on the things that his spy had managed to find out, though seemingly very little, was a lot of information in itself. He could tell that Kurai had much experience when dealing with forces that he had no knowledge of, he knew how to gather information, know thy enemy, if they were his enemy that is. There was also that little disappearing act of his, if he could vanish from the sights of an experienced spy and tracker such as the man that Okugi had sent to follow Kurai, then he was used to having people follow him. Okugi suspected that Kurai knew that he was being tailed. But the question was how was Kurai able to tell that someone was following him. It was something that Okugi believed that his organization could use, but how to get that information out of the man, he did not know.

#

When the next day dawned, Kurai was out of the house so fast that Ikari was unable to greet him a good morning. His ravens had nothing to report as no one had gone within the vicinity of the house looking for him. Since he had already found what he needed to know about the defenses of the city, or more like of the officials, what he planned for the day was to seek out any information, even gossip, that was about Tai, he wondered if the people in the capital of Ryuu had any suspicions as to what had happened to the ruler and kirin of Tai.

He snooped around the marketplace hoping to find some information about the Tai, not nescessarily about the ruler and the kirin, but also about he country in general. He also wanted to know if they had any news about the bunch that he had left in that particular country, there must have been some news about a group of individuals that delivered the nescessities to the impoverished people of Tai that had chosen to stay within the country's borders rather than immigrate. He also wanted to know if people knew who he was.

He found out that the rumors about him as someone to be weary off had died since he had not been encountered by any bandits as of late, his reknown had gone on to being urban legend or myth. It was a good thing that that had happened as he didn't want to be recognized as a possible threat to the balance of power within the city.

After speaking with some fruit vendors about where the fruits had come from, and the state of the economy in the other countries, he had found out that Kou was still without a ruler, Kei was prospering, En was still stable, and Kyou was doing fine as well. When questioned about any news about Tai, the vendor simply looked at him weirdly, but decided to indulge him with some rumors. Such as the possibility that the creation of a black kirin was an omen rather than a blessing, and that an agent of Tentei had possibly erased the mistake, while at the same time leaving the country to fend for itself while another kirin was born to replace the previous kirin. Kurai didn't know how to react to such a rumor, but decided to simply thank the vendor by purchasing half a dozen apples.

He then spent some time with a butcher, asking questions about youma and if they were edible. He was rewarded with an enthusiastic butcher, that found it refreshing that there was someone in the world interested in more than just buying his wares. He informed Kurai that youma meat was indeed edible, but there were certain ways to prepare it, lest they taste bitter, bland, or simple taste like shite. He even joked that if there were enough hunters available, they could hunt the youma around Ryuu, and possible even in Tai. But that was very much unlikely as there weren't that many individuals that were willing to risk their lives for some game.

When questioned about his opinion on the way the economy was being managed, the butcher answered quite bluntly that he didn't care, and would only do so when it affected his business, but since many people ate meat, then he had nothing to worry about, the man apparently had a fear of vegetables, but could tolerate fruits.

Sometime passed before Kurai grew bored with searching for possibly clues to the whereabouts of the missing ruler and holy beast. It was four hours later that Kurai found something else to do. His ravens had informed him earlier of the presence of yesterday's spy, but Kurai decided to pay the man no mind. But now that he had nothing to occupy his time with, he decided to see how the man would react upon seeing a double of himself walking around, and asking about Tai. Ducking into an alley, Kurai changed his appearance to that of an identical twin of the man that had been following his movements and listening in on his conversations all day.

Instead of stepping out of the alleyway, he decided to put up notice-me-not spells on himself as not to attract attention to himself until he was well within the throng of people milling about the redlight district. He had never been in a red light district before in his life, and wondered if the man that he was portraying had been in one, as well as how many times had the man visited this particular one. When he cancelled the spell, he learned right of the bat that the man was apparently a daily customer of many of the delights and pleasures offered in the district. Many a prostitute asked him why he had not been visiting lately, instead of answering them, he paid them no mind and simply brushed passed them, which miffed them quite a bit. Apparently the man that he was impersonating acted in the same manner in which he was acting.

By standing still for a few minutes, Kurai had managed to find out a lot of information about the man that had been seeking information about him. He learned from the prostitutes that tried to catch his attention that the man's name was Koryu. Some of the men that passed him by asked him how someone named Okugi had been treating him as they hadn't seen him lately. His simple answer didn't really do much other than have them leave him alone as they said that they couldn't stay and chat as they had some beauties to woo.

While walking around the district, Kurai had found out that there were levels or tiers in the district, there was a cheap section, a medium ground, and a section that served the upper crust of society, or in short those that had the means, and the excess money to splurge and spend on worldly pleasures. While walking around that last section, he found out that Koryu frequented that section of the district quite often, which told him that Koryu was basically well off.

While drinking at a bar in the middle class section, Kurai spotted Koryu searching for him, as the man had failed to spot him at any of the other districts. Deciding to play a little bit more, he decided to play the part of a bodyguard, one that was protecting himself. He approached Koryu from behind, and startled the man when he used the man's voice. Having heard the man speak, he was able to emulate the voice by changing his voicebox, and windpipes to produce the right sound.

*

"Are you looking for someone?" someone asked with his voice from right behind him.

"W-who are you?" Koryu demanded shakily at seeing someone who could and would pass off as his twin.

"My name is of no consquence, all that matters is that you have been following the man that hired me," the look-alike stated, "What do you want with him? Are you some kind of stalker? Based on the advances, and looks that I have been on the receiving end of, I would say that you can't possibly be interested in my charge in the physical sense."

"I'm not interested in him in any way, its just that my employer is having me gather as much information on him as I can," Koryu admitted noticing that for some reason no one was paying them any mind, "But enough about that for now, I'm sure that you've been able to find out a lot about me, so I have a proposition for you."

"I'm listening," the supposed bodyguard said as if truly interested.

"I'll pay you double whatever he is paying you, all I want is for you to gather as much information about him as possible, like what is his purpose in coming to the capital, and why was he snooping around for information about the military, and about Tai," Koryu proposed, "What do you think?"

"Let me meet with your employer after I've gotten the information," the supposed bodyguard said.

"Nice doing business with you, now would you kindly dispense with your disguise," Koryu said.

"I'd rather not, I don't want my identity to be known, but don't worry, the people will continue to be ignorant of our likeness for a little while longer," he informed Koryu, then walked away and into the throngs of people that were miling about the district, eventually vanishing entirely, leaving Koryu wondering where the man had gone, and what he really looked like.

#

The next day, Ikari was once again unable to greet Kurai a good morning, much more a good day, as he had managed to leave the house at the crack of dawn. The moment that all traces of night had disappeared, Kurai left the house.

'_Watch for stalkers_,' was his mental command to his ravens as he walked to a deserted alleyway. Once within the safety of the space, and with his ravens keeping watch over the space, and the path leading to it, he multiplied himself, a la Multiple Man. His other self stayed the same, and left the alleyway first, it was the first time that Kurai realized that he had somehow split his consciousness into two, and that the experience would take some getting used to.

The original Kurai slightly changed his looks, the day turned out to be his first experience of being a female of his own species, he had literally turned himself into a young woman, a young woman in men's clothes. He had to change his clothes a little bit though, just to blend in with the populace as he had the other day seen some women in what he thought to be for men only, pants and a long sleeved shirt, and shoes, do not forget those shoe wrappings.

The ravens had informed him that Koryu was still in the vicinity and would be able to see him should he leave at that very moment, which he did.

*

Koryu was met with the sight of a young woman with long black hair, green eyes, and round face, red lips, and a regular sized bust, as well as curves in all the right places. The young woman looked a little disheveled, suggesting that she had done something in the alley with the man that had just left.

Koryu was rewarded by a wink as he had been staring at the young woman, deciding that since he had made a deal with that bodyguard just last night, he could skip his duty for the day. So he approached the young woman.

"I got the information you wanted, most of it anyway," the young woman informed him before he could say anything, "By the way, you can call me Kasumi."

"Information? What informa..tion..you're the bodyguard?" Koryu asked in astonishment, "But..you were a guy last night. H-how?"

"Trade secret, now take me to your leader," Kasumi said.

"Before that tell me what you have learned," Koryu insisted as they walked in the direction of Okugi's house.

"He's looking for some clues to a mystery, as well as a way to help a friend in need of some assistance," Kasumi informed him, which wasn't really much information.

"That's not a lot of information you know," Koryu said.

"Well, I'm not about to reveal all that I have learned to someone who hasn't told his employer that you're having someone else do your job for you," Kasumi retorted.

"My employer is aware of what I've been doing," Koryu said defensively.

"Then lead me to him, that I might give him the information he is looking for," Kasumi said.

"Tell me the rest of the information first, I want to cross check it with what I've found out," Koryu said, then questioned Kasumi, "How do I know that you aren't some assassin from the court trying to silence my employer?"

"Lead me to Okugi or I'll kill you where you stand, you fence sitter, I know that you've been passing on information to the court officials about Okugi's activities," Kasumi threatened.

"How'd you know about that? No one was supposed to know!" Koryu exclaimed panicked.

"I didn't, but you've just confirmed by suspicions," Kasumi said, "Now take me to Okugi, and I wont kill you here and now."

"As you wish..." Koryu said, resigned to his fate.

*

"Master Okugi," Koryu greeted the man as he stepped into the man's office in his home, "I've brought someone that can shed some light on the mystery that is Kurai."

"You've brought someone? Koryu, I assigned you to the task, I didn't say that you could hire someone else to do it, and how sure are you that this person will not rat us and our operation out?" Okugi questioned.

"I..I..she got him to talk, I swear, she's legit sir," Koryu said.

"What do you mean by 'she'?" Okugi asked.

"I mean, the person I hired is presently a 'she', sir..." Koryu said.

"Send her in then," Okugi said. Which Koryu did.

Okugi was surprised by the woman theat Koryu had brought in, he did not expect someone like the person before him to have been the one to gather the information on Kurai.

"So..what do you want to know about Kurai?" Kasumi asked, "I know what Koryu wanted to know, but what do you want to know?"

"First, let me ask you a question," Okugi said.

"Go on," Kasumi said.

"Do you know why I want information about Kurai?" Okugi asked, really wondering if she knew, it was also a test of Koryu's loyalty.

"You seek a bargaining chip to use to get him to cooperate with you," Kasumi stated with an aire of confidence, seemingly sure of her answer.

"I see," Okugi said, then faced Koryu, "To think I trusted you Koryu, go crawl to that other master of yours..I've known that you've been double crossing me for some time now."

"W-what! Master Okugi I've done no such thing! I didn't tell her about our plans for Kurai! I swear!" Koryu said trying to defend himself.

"But the more important matter here is that you do not deny working for someone else," Okugi said catching Koryu off guard, "Leave now, before I have someone kill you for your betrayal of my trust."

"Fine!" Koryu shouted, then stormed out of the office while saying, "You haven't heard the last of me!"

When Koryu was finally out of sight, Kasumi or rather Kurai mentally contacted his ravens and had them tail Koryu, as he wanted to know who exactly the man was working for.

"Now that he's out of the picture, what did you want to know?" Kasumi asked.

"Why was he spying on the military?" Okugi asked his first question.

"To see what he would be up against should he decide to do something violent," Kasumi answered.

"Why was he looking for information about Tai," Okugi asked his second question.

"To find any clue to the whereabouts of the Tai-o and Tai Taiho," Kasumi answered.

"What is he after? Why the capital of Ryuu? Why Ryuu for that matter?" Okugi asked.

"A prosperous country in decline, one that has stood for far longer than En's present government, the capital is the seat of power, with the palace overlooking it," Kasumi answered.

"Is that all there is to it?" Okugi asked as he was not satisfied with the last answer.

"Of course not," Kasumi answered, "But I don't see how the rest of the information is relevant, or will help you in convincing him to fight for you."

"How did you know about that?" Okugi asked.

"I have my ways," Kasumi answered, "But please, do tell, why him?"

"Kotetsu left in search of someone to help rid the country of the ruler that has gone senile in his old age, blinded by love or lust, whichever the case may be, he has been played a puppet of the officials," Okugi explained, "Kurai is our best bet in getting rid of the king, and the officials that plunge our country in a steadily down hill slope."

"You would rather chose to suffer, than to wait agonizingly for the inevitable to occur," Kasumi surmised.

"Precisely," Okugi said, then coming up with an idea he spoke once again, "Could you perhaps, convince him to do the deed, I mean, you were able to get that much information about him."

"When do you want it all to happen? Kurai does not like fence sitters.." Kasumi asked.

"As soon as possible," Okugi said, "But..what do you mean about the fence sitter statement?"

"One who refuses to chose a side, waiting for a victor to be clearly recognizeable, then hopping off of the fence when there is no longer any conflict," Kasumi elaborated her earlier statement, "Any other questions, clarifications, or requests?"

"Just one more thing," Okugi said, "How much are you expecting me to pay you for all this, I'm assuming that Koryu offered to double your original fee or something."

"You can ask Kurai once the deeds have been done," Kasumi said before leaving the office by way of the door.


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer (1): This is a fan written work based on the works of J.K. Rowling. It might possibly also have some elements of a number of other works. There is no money being made from this, it is merely a work meant for the entertainment of myself and the masses. This is merely for fun, and no profit. I repeat: I am not making any money out of writing this.

Disclaimer (2): I also do not own anything that has to do with Juuni Kokki, Juuni Kokuki, Record of the Twelve Kingdoms, The Twelve Kingdoms. The only things that will probably be mine to claim are some of the names that will appear in the fic.

Warning: OCs OOCs Sues, and some crack. You have been warned.

Note 1: Post-DH Disclaimer (2) anime/novel Crossover

Legend: # denotes change of time, while * denotes change of scene/perception/POV/center of attention/small change in time

*****

*****

**CHANGE**

*****

**Chapter Thirteen**

*****

*****

Things did not proceed as he had expected them to, instead of having to pave his way through soldiers to get to his targets, he simply had to walk into their residences stating that he had information on some rebels, or resistance groups. Such information was sought after by the greedy officials that sought to stay in power longer, toeing the line all the time. They didn't trust their servants to deal with people claiming to have information, for on the off chance that the information was legitimate, they didn't want the news to spread to other people.

He met with each of the minor officials in their private offices in their homes, going in, and leaving a few minutes later, the only evidence of his being there were the eyewitness accounts of the servants, which didn't count for much, of him entering and leaving the residences. Within the private offices, he left the officials alive and well, up until he left the residence that is. The imperious curse was very useful when it came to setting up people to die. None of the officials had a strong mind or a strong will, which made applying the curse all the more easier.

Not all of his excecutions were performed behind closed doors. Once his ravens informed him of the whereabouts of one Koryu, he went to the place where the man was. He then transformed himself into an identical twin of the man, and confronted him in front of the people around the two of them. Then without allowing the man to say anything in his defense, or simply say anything for that matter, Kurai shot out dozens of kusarigama out of the sleeves of his shirt, and proceeded to slice and dice Koryu. Leaving many a bloodly stain on the street, walls, and on people's souls. Instead of simply walking away, he instead walked to whichever piece was the biggest and melted into the shadow of that piece. The people then saw him as the accumulated bad karma that had grown from all the evil deeds that Koryu had done in his lifetime.

All of the deaths happened within one hour of the other, it seemed as if all of the officials involved in the manipulation of the ruler were conveniently found in the capital. Before the killings began, Kurai had sent cursed letters to all the officials, which forced them to go to the capital no matter what they were feeling. None of the officials were spared, well none of the ones that were in on the manipulation of the will of heaven. Kurai had sent letters to all those that he had found were involved, a new name popping up after every interogation session with one of the officials that he was to kill.

The higher officials in the ploy quickly caught on to the trend and decided to stay in the royal palace where no one had yet to be killed, they believed that no one would dare attack the place, aside from it being secluded, it was also the seat of power, as well as where the ruler was, and no one that they knew of would willingly face the wrath of the heavens. They were not in the know about Kurai's encounter with Tentei in the sea between Tai and En, and therefore were secure in their belief that no one would dare stand up to the might of heaven. Poor them.

Some of the officials that Kurai met with were not the run of the mill officials, some of these men were soldiers or former soldiers, catching them of guard was trickier than the regular official, but in the end none were a match for the magic wielding Kurai, no wand needed too. Some of this brand of official decided to take a chance on defending themselves, all of whom met with something in their office jammed through their throat at some point in time, usually by their own hand.

Most people knew that someone was targetting the officials, all officials for that matter knew that they could be next, but there was no way that they could really prove it as each of the men being killed, had been killed by their own hands.

Kurai had made sure that nothing he did could be traced back to him, and he had no qualms about killing sennin either, he did not discriminate between mortal and immortal, to him they were all problems and not solutions, and their deaths were the closest way that he could find to relieve his friend of his pain. He believed that in order for the country to become prosperous, it would first have to endure a time of chaos and disorder. A time which he, Kurai would create through killing all those that would do with the country as they wished should the ruler be taken out of power, either through death of the kirin, or through their beheading. Those that were causing the country some manner of grief were being taken out, while those that were trying to do something productive were left in power, unfortunately the Ryuu-o was niether, and some of the people believed that something needed to be done about their formerly more than good ruler.

#

It had been a whole week of killings before Kurai decided to stop. He wanted to give the remaining corrupt officials false hope, in that someone of their number had hired the assassin to eliminate their own competition, and that they were safe amongst one another. It was that false sense of security that enabled Kurai to be a little bit more creative in his dealings with the officials.

He had some of the officials host parties for their comrades, and during the parties the hosts themselves would provide poisoned food and drink for their guests. The poison being provided by a handy herbalist that just happened to be nearby, which was Kurai in one of his many possible forms. The poison would not kill just about everyone, but only select individuals, there was a trigger mechanism tied to the magic of the undetectable poison. The consumer would have to have some thoughts, that were connected to memories of corruption of the ruler of the land, or other such sins against the people. With such thoughts in mind the poison would launch its deadly attack on the official's body, ending his life within the span of twenty four hours after the thought and memory triggered the poison. But should the consumer managed to escape the life expectancy of the poison, well, there were other parties.

The parties were all scheduled to happen one day after another, allowing for officials to die at another party, separate from the one that had the poison that they had originally taken. When an official died at the other party, then there would be suspicion placed on the host, and the food and drink heavily scrutinized. Even the sennin were not safe from death by the particular poison which Kurai had concocted, it bypassed the immortality that the sennin were granted completely, Tentei allowed him that much, but it wouldn't affect the ruler of the country, only beheading and being completely cut into two would kill that person.

Two weeks after the killings started, the officials were greatly weary of one another, and those that lived below the palace were greatly weary of those that lived in the palace proper, as still not a single one of them had died. There was disention in the ranks, while Kurai did not want to be used as a tool or a pawn in a rebellion by someone, he did not mind being the cause of a rebellion. With all the mistrust floating in the air, some officials had gotten it into their heads to raise armies of their own, those that were governors of a province had the easiest time in doing it.

As the weeks progressed, Kurai had managed, by a number of killings, to spur the country into civil war. Provincial lords were at arms against one another, and the number of youma that had been attacking settlements, even the capital had grown in number and consistency. The borders of Ryuu had to be forcibly closed, disallowing anyone from leaving the country and getting in, as no one wanted knews of the unrest to reach the rest of the world.

Ten year prior to Kurai's arrival a secret agent of En had gone into Ryuu to assess the situation and climate of the place, and had noted its steady decline, due to the presence of corruption in minor officials, as well as reports of youma attacks along the coastline. Had any such individual managed to enter the country, they would not be surprised, but appalled at what was occuring. The settlemnts, villages, towns, and cities, were quick to make sure that none of their people, save for soldier, were allowed to leave their homes. Food and other nescessities were brought to their homes instead. It was a measure that the officials had put into place to make sure that not one of their citizens betrayed them, and only allowed those that were loyal to each of them to become a member in their armies. It had gone from loyalty to the crown, to loyalty to the officials.

Aside from the battles that took place around the countryside, wherein officials did battle against one another, within the capital there were also some battles, of a different sort. The organization of merchants that had decided to try and overthrow their ruler had gone into their own brand of chaos as they had found out early on that they were not in control of the situation. They had originally planned on controlling Kurai to do their bidding and remove elements not to their liking at their own discretion. But one should not underestimate the unkown, and seeing as Kurai was one of the great unknowns, they should not have underestimated him.

Ikasu and Ikari were spared from all the turmoil, as they were told to flee the country days before the order was sent out to close all borders. The ravens had reported that they had successfully fled. The ravens had also delivered a letter from Kurai to be given to Ikasu to give to Kotetsu. In the letter were the words: It will be over shortly.

While the merchants scrambled to gain control of what they could, Kurai continued to sow the seeds of distrust amongst the ranks of the soldiers of the officials, as well as among the officials that had considered each other allies in their conflicts. Kurai had impersonated each one of them, and pretended to have conversations with none existent agents about matters of sabotage, which when the real officals and or soldier was confronted, whomever the confronter was received words stating that the allegations were incorrect and no such things were happening or had happened, in short everything was denied. But due to such rumors and the like, such things eventually became true as some people started to spy on others, some getting caught, while others never hearing from their agents ever again. Some of the agents were actually Kurai in disguise with no intentions of relaying any information he had acquired from his spying sessions.

Eventually the court summoned all the officials to the royal palace, one of the advisors of the king had decided to see if he could end the in fighting amongst former allies, and get back on track. Sure there were fewer of them to manipulate things, but the fewer the competition the better, but to thin the ranks even more would not be good for even their ambitions and goals.

When the summons was given, all the fighting was halted, and Kurai decided that he would not get another chance to slaughter all that needed to be slaughtered again. The audience with the king was the most convenient thing that had ever happened to him so far, even more than meeting with those former voices in his dreams.

He would end the suffering by making the suffering too much to bear that people would be forced to actually do something other than hide.

Kurai slit the throat of an official that made his way to join the rest of his allies on the trip up to the palace and transformed into the official to gain access to the palace. Security was tight, and all the offocials were checked thoroughly for any kind of weapon, of course no one could check Kurai enough to find everything, much less anything, as he hid everything as a part of his self.

In the royal court slightly more than two hundred officials, from the lowest rank, up to the Chousai, were present, and as things, or rather the meeting wore on, fewer and fewer individuals remained alive in the hall. One by one, the guilty of corruption lost their lives, be they immortal or mortal, Kurai took their life. But he didn't move around the room, only to be spotted by one of the many guards posted around the hall to ensure the safety of their ruler, or their employer. Kurai controlled the metal iron in the blood to kill the officials from the inside, some of them simply appeared to have fallen asleep, or unconscious. No one was the wiser to the fact that their fellows were slowly dying around them.

Kurai didn't realize it until he really took a look around the room, he was impersonating an official of medium importance, and would get the chance to speak infront of the king soon. But while he waited for his chance to land the killing strike, he needed to thin out the ranks a little bit more.

*

Kurai didn't know it at the time, but while he killed off officials one by one, the merchants had decided to mount an offensive against the palace, and end things once and for all, as they had yet to receive word of Kurai being present in the palace and causing havok in it. They had the same idea that Kurai did, but they were going to attack the palace en masse, with as many people as they could recruit in such a short period of time.

Some of them believed that if the king saw what lengths the common people would go through to get him to understand the thoughts of the people, then he could change his ways. But none of them knew that no matter what the king wanted to do, it was too late, and only his beheading would solve things.

There were a few people inside the palace that were sympathetic to the cause of the merchants, and had agreed early on that should such a chance present itself then they would aid the usurpers in attacking the palace, in getting in to confront the king, to prompt him to change his ways while he still coun;, and end his life should he chose not to even try.

*

The officials could not hear the fighting that had been going on for a few minutes outside of the walls of the hall in which they were all in. But Kurai could hear the sounds of fighting, of blades clashing against one another, of men dying left and right. He heard the mournful cries of comrades lamenting over the death of friend and foe alike. But as he knew that his chance to act was near he gave used some spells to give the defenders more time to stall the attackers, while he did his thing.

When he was called to prostrate himself before the king, he did so with as much respect as he could fake. Once he was bowed in front of the king, and people had relaxed to his being there, he moved with speeds that no one in the room had ever encountered, save for anyone that had seen a kirin or a shirei move. He was immediately beside the king, one hand was bathed in blood, while the other held the man together.

"You have served your people long enough, now die," were Kurai's parting words as he let go of the body, and turned around to watch it fall from the level of the throne to the floor on which the officers kneeled on.

The body landing unmoving on the floor did not start people panicking, it was the fact that not only had the head been separated from the body, but that the body had been quartered. The steps moving up to the throne ran red with blood, but not blood moving downwards to pool on the ground, but upwards to meet with Kurai's feet. Kurai had managed to find out how to absorb the blood while in human form.

Some of the officials had chanced a glance at the man that had killed their former king, and what they saw had frightened them so much that they had died of sheer terror, for looking back at them was no man, but a monster. Kurai's eyes had changed color, his right eye was a glowing crimson, while his left eye was a raging maelstorm of dark colors. But the feeling held within them was pure undiluted madness, the thrill of the kill, and the love for wanton bloodshed and chaos, but with a hint of unmatchable dispair.

*

Okugi was one of the first men to enter the hall, and what he had found had surprised him, sitting on the throne was not the king, but someone that he had not been expecting. Kurai was on the throne, sitting on it as if he had won the rulership of the country, but everyone knew that the kirin chose the ruler. So where was the king.

One of the people that had entered alongside Okugi had found their deposed ruler, his body parts strewn across the floor, his blood nowhere to be found, not even a speck. But when the man had looked up to the figure sitting on the throne, he saw a clear glass in hand, but instead of some regular liquid, it was half filled with a crimson liquid. After wondering what it was, the man realized where all the blood of the former ruler had gone.

After seeing the figure on the throne, as well as the remains of the former king on the floor, the attackers realized that they had met with no resistance upon entering the court. There was absolutely no other movement save for those that they made, and the sipping of the man on the throne from his glass or cup. Looking around they found all of the, or most of the officials in different states of panick, all of them looked to have been frozen in midstep or while they had been in motion. They were all still as statues.

But the silence was broken by twenty or so officials, two of which were provincial lords, that had run out of the crowd of statues and barrelled into the new arrivals spewing words incoherently. Okugi got the gist of it, which was to protect them from the monster on the throne.

"Kurai! I know that is you on the throne!" Okugi decided to speak up, and called out to the man, "What have you done!?"

"I have done what you were planning on doing, but in a more thorough way," Kurai answered clearly that his voice carried out, and was heard by all those that were still alive within the room.

"What have you done to the officials?" Okugi asked, seeing as none of those that were not babbling incoherently had moved..

"I have killed them all, all of those that had tried to control the will of heaven," Kurai said.

"But you have commited a grave sin yourself," Okugi said, "You have killed a king!"

Kurai finished his bloodly drink before saying anything in response, allowing his canines to show in the growing moonlight, as day had turned to dusk, and dusk had turned to dawn.

"Someone had to do it, and was it not your original plan for me to do such a deed?" Kurai questioned, not really expecting an answer he continued speaking, "Now, unless you wish to be bathed in blood, I suggest you leave the room, these petrified officials have yet to fully die."

"What do you mean bathed in blood? Are you planning on killing us too?" Okugi asked as he and the men with him prepared their weapons incase that was what Kurai was planning to do.

"No, I mean..this," after saying that Kurai snapped his fingers and bodies of the petrified officials blew up, showering the living inhabitants of the room with blood. Once the blood had stopped moving in any direction, Kurai looked directly at Okugi's eyes.

"You know not the monster you have unleashed," Kurai said, he also may not have really realized it in the past, but there was just something about fighting and killing that he so enjoyed, he now truly knew why his former foe had reveled and delighted in torturing and killing, the power that came from it was great.

After saying such a thing Okugi and his companions could see the blood in the room slowly begin to move in the direction of Kurai, and slowly but surely they were absorbed into the man upon contact with his feet, or any part of his body, or even shadow for that matter. If being showered by a literal shower of blood had been disconcerting, the rivers of blood being drawn to the man was even more so, and Okugi began to see what Kurai meant by monster.

"Y-you aren't human!" Okugi accused the man on the throne, while at the same time trying to suppress the urge to relieve himself of all that he had eaten all week long.

"What gave me away?" Kurai asked in a mocking tone, "Was it the wanton acts of killing, or the blood that even now seeps into my very being?"

"Everything! I knew it from the first time I heard about you from my agents in the city," Okugi said, "There was just something about you that told me that you were different."

"Now what to do with me, that is what you are thinking isn't it?" Kurai asked rhetorically as he knew what the man was thinking, his surface thoughts clear as day, and for someone that had more than just a basic grasp on the art of legilimency, that was already a lot of information. Kurai had managed to catch more than just a glimpse of the man's mind and thought process, it was simply too organized, and all the information he wanted need not be sought out, it just came to him instantly after being beckoned to his presence in the merchant master's mind.

"Of course that's what I'm thinking," Okugi said, for in his mind what else was there for someone to do when faced with such a horror.

"Then your thoughts move to the possibility that there is nothing that you can do," Kurai said, reading the man perfectly, "You might want to protect your mind a little bit more, for I can see some very damning information in your mind, how at the beginning you were one of those that funded the illicit activities of the officials and ministers, and have been doing something of the sort on the side in exchange for being turned into a sennin."

"H-how..?" Okugi asked shocked that one of his secrets had been revealed, not even his family knew of his being an immortal himself.

"O-Okugi, you're a sennin?" were among the questions coming from his would be comrades at arms. Clearly there was disbelief, and even at that moment Kurai was not done with his little dissention in the ranks bit.

"Of course he is, how do you think he has been so successful, how he has been so successful that he has never had to suffer in any of his business dealings, hmm? He's a fence sitter, not really choosing a side, simply waiting for a clear winner to be seen and then and only then hopping off of the fence to join the winning side," Kurai said, still looking straight into Okugi's eyes, "Didn't I tell you that I don't like fence sitters? I seem to recall I did."

"This is the first time I've ever spoken to you!" Okugi said, anger growing steadily within his being at each passing second, "I've only ever spoken to that bodyguard of yours!"

"What bodyguard?" Kurai said, then slowly transformed into Kasumi, "You mean this bodyguard?" then he transformed back as the shock settled in, and replaced the growing anger within Okugi.

"Technically Kasumi is a bodyguard, Kasumi protected my identity," Kurai said, "Now what do you plan on doing Okugi? Do you plan on running? Or do you want to kill me too?"

Instead of answering him, Okugi prepared to charge at Kurai, but before he could fully make his first step he found himself staring at his still beating heart. His heart being within the grasp of Kurai, and somehow as he stared he was still alive.

"Your fate was sealed from the moment the thought of killing me entered your mind," Kurai said, then ate the heart whole, like a serpent his jaw unhinged and his mouth grew wide, he swallowed the heart whole, "And now, you die."

At the word 'die' Okugi dropped to the floor dead, a look of utter terror etched on his face, his blood flowing out of him and into Kurai as his body hit the floor.

"Now..what to do with the rest of you...I wonder.." Kurai said loud enough for the others in the room to hear him, "Should I kill you too...or..do you have any suggestions?"

"I..we.." the rest of the men that had entered the hall, and were continuing to enter the hall were indecicive. The room lasped into silence, with Kurai's grin growing wider as each second passed.

But before anything could happen, or any violence could occur, a door was heard opening from somewhere near the throne, Kurai and the people were near the rear end of the hall.

"I have enough strength for this..." Kurai heard Ryuuki, who had entered, say, then in as clear as voice as Ryuuki could muster he said, "Kurai..lead Ryuu as best as you can or they allow..be the interim ruler while I search for the next one.."

"Tch," Kurai said upon hearing the proclamation of the Kirin, "Do as you will, I'm leaving.."

With that Kurai simply disappeared.

When the people realized that Kurai had disappeared they all released whatever breath they were holding, or knew not that they were holding in. Some had enough sense to help their kirin, as the holy beast began to falter and begin the descent into total collapse.

"Taiho!" some of the men called out as they caught their kirin, not letting him hit the ground, none of them were vengeful, as it was only in the last few years that the ruler that he had chosen so long ago had gone bad.

"Just as Hou has a Court of the Moon, then so shall Ryuu, ask Kurai for guidance should you need it, while I am away in search of a new ruler for Ryuu," Ryuuki told the men nearest to him.

"How will we do that? We don't even know where we went," one of the men decided to ask and point out.

"By the light of the moon, speak to any black bird, best one being a raven, and he is sure to hear you," Ryuuki answered.

"What is he? Is he a new kind of youma? A sennin?" another asked.

"Something like that..I'm not even sure myself," Ryuuki answered.

"Who is he? We heard Okugi call him Kurai," another of the men asked.

"He calls himself Karasu no Kurai," Ryuuki recalled, "He told me once that he lived in Tai, he provides for the needy of Tai, and is currently searching for the Tai-o and Tai Taiho, who are most certainly not dead."

"His means are bloody, but the ends...are for the good of the people.." one of the observed after hearing what Ryuuki had to say.

"I would like to think so," Ryuuki said.

"Then I guess I speak for the people when I say that we shall seek him should we need aid or guidance," one of the remaining court officials said.

"Then as soon as I am healed, I shall leave the kingdom in your hands..." Ryuuki said before passing out, only to be caught by one of his two shirei.


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer (1): This is a fan written work based on the works of J.K. Rowling. It might possibly also have some elements of a number of other works. There is no money being made from this, it is merely a work meant for the entertainment of myself and the masses. This is merely for fun, and no profit. I repeat: I am not making any money out of writing this.

Disclaimer (2): I also do not own anything that has to do with Juuni Kokki, Juuni Kokuki, Record of the Twelve Kingdoms, The Twelve Kingdoms. The only things that will probably be mine to claim are some of the names that will appear in the fic.

Warning: OCs OOCs Sues, and some crack. You have been warned.

Note 1: Post-DH Disclaimer (2) anime/novel Crossover

Legend: # denotes change of time, while * denotes change of scene/perception/POV/center of attention/small change in time

*****

*****

**CHANGE**

*****

**Chapter Fourteen**

*****

*****

He had not clue where he had gotten himself, and his ravens off to. When he decided to leave the palace, he had no destination in mind, and simply allowed himself to be dropped off by his magic anywhere the nearly sentient thing wished to drop him off at.

Looking around, he found himself on the balcony of a palace overlooking the sea in the sky. He knew that he was at a royal palace simply from the view, but he did not know of which country it was of. There were no telltale signs of which country, and by the looks of things nothing bad had been happening in the last how many years, meaning that there was a ruler sitting on the throne, and ruling well, and had been in power for sometime.

While he was looking out to sea, his senses were not at peak condition, or more accurately, he was not really paying all that much attention to his surroundings, which was why he was caught completely off guard by the sound of someone's voice.

"And who might you be?" was asked, by the sound of the voice it belonged to an old women.

Instead of answering the voice, Kurai was so surprised that he had bent too far over the railing that he fell off, and from the height that he had fallen from for a normal person, it was fall that would be most impossible to survive from, it the impact on the water did not kill him, then the impact would temporarily stun him which would allow the water to kill him by drowning him. But Kurai wasn't normal, and even before the Sai-o could command her kirin to save him, Kurai was saved by one of his own tamed youma, one of his own version of shirei.

Sai-o and Sairin were surprised when they saw a mighty serpent rise out of a shoku that had suddenly appeared, and caught the falling young man on its head.

"Hehe, thanks Orochi," Kurai thanked his Jyouyou servant, "Almost experienced drowning there, hehe."

"Why did I have to submit to an insane majin like you," mumbled Orochi the Jyoujou, the mumble being loud enough, and audible enough for Sairin to hear.

Sairin walked up to the railing as Kurai jumped off of his servants head, and landed right in front of Sairin.

"What are you? I know that you are not a kirin," Sairin said.

"You are right, I'm not a kirin," Kurai said, then introduced himself with a bow, "I am Karasu no Kurai, and I just came from Ryuu, though I didn't expect to arrive in Sai, hehe," he ended his introduction but uncharacteristically scratching the back of his head in slight embarrassment.

"Nice to meet you Kurai, I am the Queen of Sai," the old lady introduced herself.

"Ahh, good, glad to meet you, that's Orochi by the way," Kurai said, introducing his servant in the process, "I must have summoned him as I fell off, hehe."

"What are you then?" Sairin asked, intrigued by someone that was able to tame one of the untameable youma.

"Err...I'd rather not say..though I can say that I'm the interim ruler of Ryuu...err...yeah..." Kurai said, sensing that what he had just said would prompt even more questions, and not just from the cute kirin infront of him.

"What happened to the last ruler?" Sai-o asked, not really wanting to hear what she expected to hear.

"I'm sure that you noticed the deline in the country, right?" Kurai asked rhetorically, "Well I hastened the process a bit...I killed the former Ryuu-o."

A small amount of fear entered Sai-o's being as she heard what she had been dreading to hear. She knew about the steady decline of Ryuu, but she did not realistically think that she would meet with the usurper of the throne.

"Why did it have to be you..?" Sai-o asked, needing to know how Kurai fit into the picture, as far as she knew, the name or title Karasu no Kurai had no importance in the world, save maybe for the little gossip she had heard about recent events in Tai, "How long ago did you perform the deed?"

"Well..it seemed like no one was willing to do it, and Ryuuki is my friend, I didn't want him to suffer anymore," Kurai admitted, then answered the second question after a moment's hesitation, "I killed him afew minutes or maybe hours ago."

"What!? But I don't smell any blood on you!" Sairin exclaimed, and it was true, there was no evidence of bloodshed on Kurai's person.

"Ahh..you want to smell the blood that I have spilled then? I thought kirin didn't find the scent of blood fragrant," Kurai said then allowed some of the blood he had absorbed to leak out of his pores, some of it dripping slowly onto the floor, that he now stood on. Facing the kirin he could see that she visibly flinched back at the sight and smell of so much blood, even Sai-o was not used to the amount of blood dripping to the floor, or flowing to the floor, coating it in the crimson liquid, and filling the air with its smell.

"By your reactions, I would have to say that you indeed do not enjoy the smell or sight of blood," Kurai observed, a little bit mockingly.

"C-could..y-you please g-get rid of it? I-I...d-don't..." Sairin said, she seemed to begin to look weaker as each second passed, her master did not look to be faring any better.

"Master, you might want to get rid of the mess...even I am not used to such a sight..." Orochi said, which was true as the giant serpent usually ate things whole.

"If you insist," Kurai said, then he willed the blood to reverse its flow and seep back into his body through the pores by which they had escaped his body.

"T-thank you..." Sairin said, all the while stepping behind her master, Sai-o.

"Could I borrow your kirin for the night?" Kurai asked Sai-o in jest, "The use of my power has seemed to awaken something deep within me, a thirst if you will, and she does look oh so delicious."

"I would have to deny your request, fellow ruler or no," Sai-o said, "I don't think kirin were born for that sort of thing, think of what Tentei would do to you."

"Oh, he knows what Tentei would do to him, he doesn't really care though.." Orochi admitted on behalf of his master.

"What do you mean?" Sai-o asked as she could feel Sairin become visibly shaken upon hearing the words of Orochi.

"He means that I have fought with Tentei, and he will not bother me, and has permitted me to do as I please, so long as it is within certain boundaries or limits," Kurai explained.

"Impossible!" Sai-o said, not believing a word that Kurai said about the matter, "I refuse to believe that a mere mortal would dare oppose the Will of Heaven."

"Yet here I am, a murderer of a king, an usurper," Kurai stated a little bit mockingly, "Maybe I should cause a little chaos in your country, hehe..then we can see whether or not Tentei really cares."

"Interim ruler of Ryuu or not, I will not allow you to do any such thing while I live and breathe!" Sai-o said in response to Kurai's _threat_, she prepared to call for her guards.

"I-I wont allow y-you to do anything of the sort," Sairin said, her long blonde hair moving about as if being blown by an unfelt wind, her kirin power coming to life around her, as she prepared to help defend her master. While a kirin was never meant to be a fighter, she didn't want anything to happen to the country that she belonged to, and was willing to do even do the only fighting she knew how to do, which was enter into a battle of wills. Her shirei were at the ready, prepared to pounce out of the shadows in anticipation of rending flesh in the defence of their mistress.

"Haha! I like the spirit your kirin has! I wish I had one just like her!" Kurai said mockingly, adding more fuel to the fire, thinking that the two women would most likely despise him, but not extend such feelings to either of his countries, namely Hou which he rightly should rule over and govern though the fact that he didn't have his kirin to prove his claim would make becoming ruler there quite difficult, then there was Ryuu that he was interim ruler of and he knew that it would take Ryuuki a long time to find a suitable ruler. Lastly there was Tai, where he was more like a provider and protector of the people, which was kind of what the missing rulers of the country were supposed to be doing were they not still missing.

"Master..." Orochi couldn't really think of anything to say.

"Fine, I'll leave your country for the time being...I see no fun in fighting women anyway...unless they had such spirit, like that kirin you keep Sai-o," Kurai said as he jumped onto Orochi's head, "Should you ever tire of her, send me a message, and I will gladly take her off of your hands!"

"Master..I think it would be best if we leave...or something..." Orochi pleaded with his master, not wanting to face the wrath or either a kirin, or Tentei for disturbing or help in disturbing the peace.

"Fine, but before we leave I have one last thing to say," Kurai said.

"What is it then?" Sairin asked impetuously, wanting Kurai to leave as she did not know how to handle a man like him, even her patience had its limits.

"Do any of the two of you know what might have happened to Tai-o and Tai Taiho?" Kurai asked, geniunely wanting to know anything about the two people in question.

"Officials of Tai sent word some years back that they had died, though the Ho-ou have yet to announce their official deaths," Sai-o was inclined to answer such an odd question, then asked one of her own, "Why do you ask?"

"Tai suffers too much, and I fear I might one day run out of supplies," Kurai honestly said, as he hadn't been in Tai in a while, there really was a possibiliy that supplies would run out.

"You're the one that's those rumors are about?!" Sai-o asked shocked at the information.

"Yeah, I think I may have some kind of split personality thing going on anyway, if you learn anything about those two, let me know ok? Just have that cute kirin of yours tell either a raven or a kochou to get the message to me," Kurai said before ordering Orochi to fly beyond what clouds there were above the palace.

*

"So where do you want to go?" Orochi asked his master when they were a few miles above the clouds.

"Before I answer that, do you know where Hyakko is?" Kurai asked Orochi, he was truly concerned about his kijyuu.

"Hyakko is smarter than any kijyuu I have encountered, he helps pull the carts sometimes, he travelled on his own to your home in Tai after your killing spree began," Orochi reported.

"Good, good," Kurai said, while sitting down he pondered on what Tai needed at the moment.

He then thought of contacting his ravens, those that were contacted were so surprised that they fell off of their perches, some of the ones that were in their human forms tripped, fell over, and some even fell off of cliffs, or into ravines, and others fell into ditches. The other ravens, aside from the ones that had been travelling with him, had not had any or much contact with him in a few months.

They informed him that they were running low on medical supplies, and that some sort of disease had hit the country, and they were in need of said supplies, some had suggested medicinal water.

"Orochi," Kurai said, catching the attention of his ride.

"Yes master?" Orochi said, awaiting his orders.

"We're heading for Shun," Kurai said, "Its shopping time!"


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer (1): This is a fan written work based on the works of J.K. Rowling. It might possibly also have some elements of a number of other works. There is no money being made from this, it is merely a work meant for the entertainment of myself and the masses. This is merely for fun, and no profit. I repeat: I am not making any money out of writing this.

Disclaimer (2): I also do not own anything that has to do with Juuni Kokki, Juuni Kokuki, Record of the Twelve Kingdoms, The Twelve Kingdoms. The only things that will probably be mine to claim are some of the names that will appear in the fic.

Warning: OCs OOCs Sues, and some crack. You have been warned.

Note 1: Post-DH Disclaimer (2) anime/novel Crossover

Legend: # denotes change of time, while * denotes change of scene/perception/POV/center of attention/small change in time

*****

*****

**CHANGE**

*****

**Chapter Fifteen**

*****

*****

It took Orochi and Kurai roughly two months to get to Shun as Orochi had taken some wrong turns while Kurai slept on his head. Kurai had learned that the disease had gotten worse, and that Tai was about to run out of medical supplies soon, therefore Kurai needed to either get their quick and do his magic thing or purchase a lot of supplies from Shun, or at the very least convince someone to send some aid to Tai.

Kurai had, in his sleep, sent word to Ryuu to send some of the surplus medical supplies to Tai. The response he had received was one that worried him slightly, the officials had immediately had his orders done, and had even gone so far as to start the funeral rites to the sailors that had left with the goods, they had so little faith in him, and only thought of him as the bringer of blood that they had seen him as being. He didn't mind, as they would see in time, that that was only a part of him, at most half, at least only a fourth.

"When we pass by a mountain I want you to drop me off at one of the villages," Kurai ordered Orochi over the sound of the wind.

"I see three, which one do you want to land in?" Orochi asked as he pointed out the three villages that he could see, there were two small ones, and a small city at the foot of the closest mountain.

"The small city!" Kurai shouted over the increasingly strong winds.

"Gotcha!" Orochi called out, he himself finding the winds being too strong, "Where do you want me to wait?"

"Go terrorize some youma out at sea, while I gather the supplies," Kurai said as Orochi got into position.

"That's a long way down," Orochi observed as Kurai readied himself to jump, "You sure you don't want me to take you down?"

"Nah, its more fun this way," Kurai said, "I'll see you in a few days!"

After saying that Kurai jumped off of Orochi's head screaming his lungs almost literally out as he plumetted to his death, or what would be his death were he a normal human being. Orochi had to watch in horror as his master fell to his doom, he knew that if he went to catch his master he wouldn't hear or feel the end of it, so he did the only thing that he could or was allowed to do, he fled to the sea to do some..._fishing_.

When he started noticing people begin to point and stare at him, Kurai knew that it was time for him to put on a show for them, so he quickly changed into his harpy form, and glided over to an out crop of rock that overlooked the nearest mountain pass. Perched on his rocky crag, still in his harpy form, passing travelers did not know what to make of him, but some people mistook him as a youma, or a shirei of their Taiho. All in all they didn't know how to treat him, they didn't know what his being there meant for their city, their lives, and everything else that had to do with them.

Some of the people that watched him fall from the sky whispered that they had seen what looked like the body of a giant serpent moving in and out of the clouds, Kurai heard all the whispering about him and about the serpent in the sky due to his enhanced senses.

But some of the passing people had interesting things to say. Some of those that believed him to be a shirei of their Taiho, whispered about their businesses being found out, something about the underground or the black market. From what he was hearing he did not like it so much. Some merchants were selling the medicinal water that they got from the underground lakes, wells, and the like, to other country's or tourist, or simply the sick, for more than the set price that had been set by the ruler of the country. Some where discussing how they would have to set their books right if the Taiho were to arrive for a surprise inspection, or should someone spot a suspicious looking character, then it must mean that that person is a spy sent by the royal court, and that they would either have to kill him or her, or pursuade the person to come over to their side.

There would always be sick in the world, no matter how good the ruler, sickness as well as dying could not be avoided, unless one were a sennin, or a king or queen. It was as unavoidable as birth, for even the kirin themselves sometimes grew sick, though when they did, they rarely got well.

Making a profit out of a commodity that will never lose its worth was ok, so long as it did not have anything to do with easing people's pain, having a price tag was fine, as most things simply had to have a price, but charging too much for medicine was a bit too much. If the sick person, or his or her family, did not have the funds to pay for the medicine what then was to become of them? Was it the will of heaven for them to die with a very slim chance of survival? Were they simply expected to accept their fates, and pass on silently into the night? Kurai did not like what he was hearing, and while he got supplies for Tai, he would try his hand at putting a stop to it.

There were some people that were aware of the corruption in their city, but were not doing anything about it, some of these people thought of Kurai as a youma, an omen, for tradgedies to come. The decline of a ruler was preceeded by misfortune on the country, or simply by the kirin getting sick. Could the mysterious being that fell from the sky be an omen for bad times ahead? They didn't know, but they were willing to try their hand at possibly stopping, if not then at least convincing those merchants with their too high prices to at least lower their prices.

There were also those people that chose to focus their attention to the serpent in the sky that they had seen, some thinking that the worst was to come to pass, Tentei was going to destroy and recreate the world a second time. Hou, to their knowledge, was without a leader, the ruler of Tai was missing, Kou had yet to gain another ruler, and as recent gossip would have it Ryuu was also without a ruler, and then there was also the constant influx of youma from Kou that the coastal towns of Shun had to deal with every now and then. So as far as those people were concerned there was far too much problems for Tentei to believe that the world was still salvageable, and therefore would recreate it all again, staring with Shun.

Kurai didn't really know how to react to those thoughts, as he really didn't think of anyone coming to that conclusion, and simply say on his rocky perch dumbfounded.

Then there were the people that simply didn't care, so long as they were alive, that was all that mattered.

Now, Kurai knew how to react to those people, those that chose ignirance so long as their private little worlds were not affected by events in the world, they could not care any less about anything save for themselves, and those things that affected them. There was a reason why there were a number of rulers whose time in power was so short, and that was because of all these people that simply chose not to care. Ignorance is bliss or so they say, but chosen ignorance was just as bad as any sin.

Kurai decided that he would wait for nightfall to arrive before he made his move, whatever it was to be. But for the time being he would continue to watch the people coming down from the mountain, and listen to their whispering, as well as what the people in the city were muttering about, as that was how he heard their conversations, in mutters.

#

Come nightfall, the only activity that Kurai could perceive was happing within the city, and the two nearby villages that were situated on the mountain. But there was something in the mountain that called out to him more so than the city and its inhabitants. So he figured out what his first order of business was, he would investigate the mountain and that which was called out to him. But he couldn't do any investigating as he was, a harpy simply walking on the ground would just seem odd, but his kirin form, that was something else altogether. He hadn't been in his animagus form for quite a while, and decided to use that form to investigate the goings on in the mountain.

Before changing into his animagus form he changed into his human form, shifting as he slowly stood up from his perched position. Then when he was standing, he slowly shifted into his animagus form, delighting in the feel of the magic washing over him and changing his form, from that of a human to that of a kirin, one whose coat was gray, whose horn could turn into a blade of sorts, and continously bled from the horn, the blood dropping to the floor, and acting as if the ground was acidic, evaporating upon contact. Having finally transformed, Kurai leaped off in the direction that he felt he was being called to. Unknown to him a pair of eyes had witnessed his transformation.

He leaped up the mountain, stopping every so often to make sure that he was going in the right direction, while also making sure that he was not being visibly followed. When he was satisfied with the fact that he could not sense anyone, not that he was really trying, he was a little overonfident, but that didn't really matter. He then continued in his quest to find that which called out to him.

It took him two hours, but he finally reached the mouth of a cave, within it was whatever it was that was calling out to him.

~_Come clossser, come closssser that Issss mayss ssspeaksss with yousss_~ Kurai heard a voice speak in a language that he did not expect to hear in quite some time, or hear again unless he was the one doing the speaking.

Allowing his curiosity to get the best of him, he entered the cave, shifting back into his human form first, pulling out his sword in the process. With sword in one hand, and a ball of blue flames to light his way in the other, he entered the cave, following the beckoning voice.

The voice slowly lead him deeper and deeper into the cave, he had to increase the strength of his flame slightly as the darkness seemed to grow stronger the further inward he got. He was able to even reach a point that he had to change his blue flame into a miniature sun to light his way, as the darkness seemed to eat away at the light at an alarming rate.

~_Why doesss yousss ussse lightsss, canss youss not movesss in the darknesss?_~ the voice asked of him, possibly feeling the heat that the mini sun was generating. He chose not to answer and simply follow the voice, once he saw who or what the voice belonged to, he would respond to whatever question the thing asked of him, after asking some of his own as well.

As he moved ever closer to the owner of the voice, he couldn't help but sense something familiar, he didn't know when or where he had last sensed it, but there or rather here it was. Whatever it was made him feel a little nervous, or simply wary. Not only did he not know what he was going to be up against, but it gave the feeling of being somewhat famliar, while at the same time not, and he couldn't for the life of him figure out where he had felt sensed the same thing in the past.

A few more minutes passed until he finally entered a large cavern, the ceiling must have been a few hundred feet high, and the cavern was larger than that, and right in the middle of it, was what appeared to be a coiled serpent, one that did not look like a jyouyou at all.

~_Are youss likesss that other onesssss?_~ the giant serpent asked, its head still not visible even with the light of the miniature sun.

~_What aresss yousss talking aboutsss?_~ Kurai asked the monster before him, as he was sure that it was not like the run of the mill youma that he had so far encountered.

_~Isssss been expecting a serpentsss likesss mysssself~_ the serpent said after noticing that Kurai was not a serpent of any kind, and walked on two legs, like a human, though Kurai was far from human, or mortal for that matter ~_Youss feelsss familiarsss for ssssome reasssson..~_

~_What dosss yousss meansss?~_ Kurai asked wanting to know what the thing before him meant, as he too felt a connection with the thing ~_Iss ssssenssse that I hasss met youss before.._~

~_Maybe if Isss sssaw your face Iss would remembersss yousss.._~ the serpent said suggestively, not in that other sense, but in the suggestion sense.

_~Before that, tellsss me what you meansss by other onesss?~_ Kurai said, wanting his curiosity about that part to be sated before finding out who his partner in the conversation what, he had a sinking feeling that he knew who it was, but simply did not want to find out if his assumptions were founded and correct.

~_The other oness that Isss ssspeaksss about isss oness that looksss human but canss turnss into serpentsss asss wellsss,~_ the serpent elaborated, ~_He camesss to me seeking powersss and wisssdom that Isss usssed to have, what they wasss Isss do not remembersss_~

~_But what kindsss of powerss could yousss hasss that he would want?~_ Kurai asked curiosity still not sated.

~_He ssssaid Isss had powersss, he wanted my help in making a new world~_ the giant serpent said, ~_Thatsss isss allsss, nothingsss moresss~_

~_Then weess cansss seee each othersss facesss now~_ Kurai said.

As Kurai moved closer, and the giant serpent uncoiled itself slightly, when each of them saw the other's face realization suddenly struck each of them. They knew the other and did not expect to see the other again within any of their lifetimes. The last instance that they had seen each other, they were battling for each of their survivals, for their respective lives.

The serpent was a half-man-half-serpent creature, with the upper body of a man, while having a really long lower body of a serpent. But the only part of the half-human half that was remotely human was the torso, as the head resembled a snake in most ways that counted.

"YOU!" both of them shouted in common tongue, pointing at one another, each also taking a step back, or in the case of the serpent simply moved his human half back, both recoiling at the revelation as to who each was facing. The serpent's forgotten memories returned like a flood, swamping him with the feeling of death, as that was the very last thing that he had felt before losing his memories, and it was the veryfirst thing to return, and dying was quite a powerful feeling, especially to one that strived for immortality.

"Why wont you just stay dead!" each of them shouted at each other, both preparing to do battle.

Kurai raised his sword in preparation for a charge, while the serpent grew claws on his hands and prepared to charge in his own way as well.

"This time stay dead!" each of the two beings in the cavern shouted once again to one another, then they charged each other. Kurai ran forward and jumped into the air to meet with the serpent. Blade met claws, and for some reason the impact did indeed cause some sparks. How Kurai was still able to stay in the air, the serpent did not know, but not that it really mattered.

The serpent believed that since the sword was busy dealing with his claws, then that left his opponent's back wide open. The serpent then used its massive tail to attempt to cleave his opponent in half, or at the very least squish him.

When Kurai noticed the tail heading his way, he mentally commanded the metals in the mountain to shoot up and slam into the tail, an action that the serpent was not expecting. He quickly reacted by moving his tail in another direction, only for it to be pushed away by the appearance of more metallic slabs slamming into it, but apparently not being able to peneratrate the the skin of the serpentine part of his body.

With the tail occupied, the serpent noticed that his opponent's full attention was not at him, as he noticed that he was gaining some ground against the blade, quickly deciding that their mid air clash was not really doing anything, the serpent deciding to make a temprary retreat, moving his upper body too fast for the blade to slice him, which caused Kurai to finally get slammed by tail as he lost his concentration. But before he was turned into a pancake, Kurai teleported himself out of the way and appeared at his starting point.

When he thought that he was in the clear, Kurai had to dodge out of the way as two bolts of green light headed for the spot, and impacted where he had been standing only a moment before. Kurai did not count on his opponent regaining his magic along with his memories.

Manical laughter filled the cavern as Kurai was forced to dodge bolt after bolt, and the occasional appearance of the tail, having to teleport out of harm's way, but at the same time having to physicall dodge out of the way. He was clearly able to avoid all the blows thrown his way, but he couldn't throw in an attack of his own with all the dodging that he was doing.

"Say," Kurai shouted out, "Do you have a new name here? Or do you still insist on being called Voldemort?"

"Why should I tell you!" the serpent shouted back, while remembering that he had indeed been given a new name as he was born into this world in which he had simply been a monster in that other monster occassionally sought out to challenge and claim his power.

While the serpent took the time to respond, and remember, Kurai took his chance, and brought out his bow, and fired several arrows in quick succession, all of them heading in the direction of the serpent's head, none of them making their mark, as they had all been delfected by an invisible shield that the serpent had managed to erect in the nick of time. So Kurai fired again, garnering the same results as the first volley.

After his second volley, he was forced to return to dodging out of the way, as the serpent just kept on attacking, none stop not even to talk, as that apparently consumed some concentration, and somewhat diverted focus from the task of killing his long time, and long since lost, foe.

Creating a clone of himself, Kurai handed it his sword, and had it insanely run up the tail of the serpent, heading ultimately for the head, as an idea popped into his head. It was safe to assume that his long time nemesis was a youma now, as he had been turned into a semi-kirin, they were always to be somewhat balanced, so it was safe to assume that while one was a of the holy nature, or thought to be of a holy nature, the other was of the other end of the spectrum, a youma.

"Rin Byou Tou Sha Kai Jin Retsu Zen Gyou!" Kurai called out as his clone made its way steadily up the back of his nemesis, the words catching the attention of the serpent, forcing it to divert all of its attention on the speaking Kurai, and forcefully making him forget the Kurai copy that was making its way to his head. Though Kurai's attention was somewhat divided, he had gotten used to having more than one body.

The serpent felt a wave of power wash over him, as if trying to force him to accept defeat, to lose for some reason, to sumbit to his opponent's will. So he brought forth his own power, trying to drown out the power that Kurai had called upon. Both powers clashing with one another, causing the cavern to shake, and an earthquake to be felt by the nearby settlements around and on the mountain. It was early morning outside the cave, and people were just waking up.

*

Those that believed that it was the end of the world as they knew it either began to panick, while others bega to pray, hoping that the world would not end, while others thought to make the most out of their remaining minutes.

In the capital of Shun, Shun-o could feel the tremors from the land down below, the moving and shaking of the earth was causing waves to appear on the sea in the sky. As she looked out onto the water she couldn't help but wonder at what was going on, and why there was an earthquake of all things.

Up in the heavens, Tentei sighed loudly, as he watched the events unfolding down in the world below.

'_He's at it again...as long as he doesn't destroy my world, I'm fine with it..._' Tentei thought as he let out another exasperated sigh, as he witnessed the struggle for power below, one that was causing earthquakes, as well as tsunamis to form, and smash into the coastline of Kou, Hou, and Tai, but luckily there was no one harmed in those three places due to the tidal waves.

*

"Shinchoku Meichoku, Tensei Chisei, Jinkun Seikun, Fuo Fudaku, Kimi Koubuku, Onmyou Wagou, Kyuu Kyuu Nyo Ritsu Ryou!" Kurai called out adding more power to his tidal wave of power, which he forced to crash down upon the serpent's own power, this newest clash forcing the mountain to shake and quake even more. At another part of the mountain, screams could be heard as people in a cavern had to run for cover as the cavern they were in began to cave in, none of the falling rocks crushing anyone, but trapping many in the process.

"You have two choices," the Kurai with the sword said as he positioned the blade right across the serpent's throat, "Serve and become immortal, or die."

"Submit, **Kikai!**" the Kurai chanting shouted, just as the serpent made his choice.


	16. Chapter 16

Disclaimer (1): This is a fan written work based on the works of J.K. Rowling. It might possibly also have some elements of a number of other works. There is no money being made from this, it is merely a work meant for the entertainment of myself and the masses. This is merely for fun, and no profit. I repeat: I am not making any money out of writing this.

Disclaimer (2): I also do not own anything that has to do with Juuni Kokki, Juuni Kokuki, Record of the Twelve Kingdoms, The Twelve Kingdoms. The only things that will probably be mine to claim are some of the names that will appear in the fic.

Warning: OCs OOCs Sues, and some crack. You have been warned.

Note 1: Post-DH Disclaimer (2) anime/novel Crossover

Legend: # denotes change of time, while * denotes change of scene/perception/POV/center of attention/small change in time

*****

*****

**CHANGE**

*****

**Chapter Sixteen**

*****

*****

Both men awoke at roughly the same time, Kikai noticed that he no longer looked like the massive serpent that he had been for several hundred years. He was now a naked young man with dark brown hair, jade colored eyes, that he knew would turn crimson should he push some magic into them. His eyes were still serpentine, while his mouth, as he felt around with his tongue could tell that he had a pair of retractable fangs. He had a triagular face. His body was of the athletic build for some reason, and he noticed that he was around five feet and six inches in height. And he was naked as a new born babe.

Across from him sat, Kurai, who realized that in his secret desire that the serpent was Voldemort, had reverted his looks back to being Harry Potter. For once, in a way, Voldemort had won and gotten what he wanted, immortality, but at the cost of having to beceome the servant of Kurai, without the ability to ever betray the young man.

As Kurai noticed that a naked Kikai was staring at him, he drew out some clothes that would fit his new servant, choosing a set of jade colored cheongsam to match the man's eyes, as well as some black straw sandals, and a sword that he knew would make his new servant's day, it was the Sword of Slytherin, most would think that the man only kept a pair of daggers on him, but the man had his own sword, one to match the magic of Gryffindor, and one that was not forged by goblins, but by true elves. He tossed all of those things in the direction of his new servant.

"Put those on, while I change my appearance again," Kurai told Kikai, as he started to undergo his transformation once again. His life eye growing misty, and his scar elongating to reach his cheek, his eyes gaining their serpentine look, his hair changed from long black locks, to white locks, his canine's turned into retractable fangs. For some reason his height didn't change, his transformation from his orignal height to his transformed height had become permanent, as did his build, and muscle mass. Noticing that his own set of clothes was scorched, he brought out a new set, and changed into it. He then put back his weapons into his body, as well as gave the ball of light that was a dying star some more energy to revert it back to a true mini sun, lighting up the cavern more brightly again.

"So what do we do now...master?" Kikai said a little bit hesitant at calling anyone his master, as he had grown so used to being called it.

"I sense some humans within the mountain," Kurai said, "Call me Kurai, or Master Kurai, by the way."

"What of the humans then?" Kikai asked.

"We check to see if they are alright, I know that we caused a powerful earthquake in our power struggle, I need to make sure that they're alright, and help them if they're not," Kurai said.

"So the people saving thing is still there, huh," Kikai said observing that Kurai still got it.

"Apparently," Kurai said as he removed whatever dust had accumulated on his person from sitting or lying down for so long, "I gots a people to protect and govern in the future, gotta practice sometime."

"What do you mean?" Kikai asked, even though he had been in the world for several hundred years, he did not know the mechanisms that ran the world., so Kurai had to explain it to him.

"You never know, a kirin might one day approach you and offer you the rulership of a nation? Perhaps Kou or Ryuu, haha," Kurai said in jest, though hoping that it would somehow happen as he wanted to know Tentei's reaction to such an event, "Well now that the explanation is over, we best get moving, who knows how many we'll have to dig out, as I think the way I came in has been blocked."

*

"Anyone! Please Help US!" someone shouted from underneath some boulders near to Kurai and Kikai's location, the two men had been calling out in search for people, as the place they were in was where Kurai could sense the life force of the humans.

"Just hold on a little longer, we just have to get this boulder off of you guys," Kurai said, Kikai looking at him as if to say 'How do you expect us to lift the boulder?'

"Kikai...for an ex-dark lord you sure are dim," Kurai said, then held out his hand, magic coating it slowly. Then he placed his hand on the boulder, and sent the energy around the boulder, "Come over here and pull this boulder out, while I hold everything else," he told Kikai as he bagan to pour more magic into the rocks, and boulders.

"May I transform even just partially? I think I'm more in touch with my magic in that form," Kikai asked.

"Go ahead, just an arm though," Kurai said.

As Kurai and Kikai played pass the boulder while they removed the rubble that was hiding the trapped people, Kurai realized that they were slowly running out of of places to drop the rocks, so he created a clone and had it burn a hole into the floor, specifically the area below his and Kikai's feet. The two men kept them up due to their innate ability to fly, as one was a weird kirin like thing, and the other was a youma like thing. Once the hole had been made, the clone flew out and proceeded to drop the rocks into it, most of the rocks were ores, indicating that they were in a mine of some sort, and most likely the people that were trapped were miners of a sort. But judging from the voice that they had heard call out to them for help, the labor force, wasn't what one would normally expect to find in a mine.

Finding some iron ores, Kurai turned them into iron slabs, floating iron slabs, and had his double man the floating things once Kikai pulled out the first survivor, which was the body that the voice belonged to. It was a girl in her late teens, and she was dressed in rags, with no evidence of anything that should have kept her safe from the collapse of the tunnels. Kikai handed her over to the Kurai on one of the floating slabs of metal.

"It's alright, you're safe now," Kikai said as he handed the girl over to the Kurai clone, and proceeded to dig throught the rubble for more survivors, there weren't that many other rocks around that really needed to be moved, or melted.

Once all the people in the area had been placed on one of the slabs of iron, Kurai created four more clones. He had two go with Kikai in one direction to search for more survivors, one clone taking care of keeping things from falling as Kikai removed the rocks that were sure to be piled up one on top of the other. The other clone in charge of making the melted hole to place the rocks, as well as to create and float the iron slabs.

While Kikai and the two clones assigned to him went off in search of more survivors, Kurai pushd up against the ceiling, and forced a hole to form in the roof of the cave reaching somewhere out of the mountain.

'_Orochi, move to above the mountain, make sure that you are hidden above the clouds, I'm sending a clone and some iron slabs with people on them up to you to watch over,_' Kurai told Orochi through their mental link of master and servant.

'_Affirmative master!_' was Orochi's reply.

After receiving the confirmation that Orochi was on his way, Kurai had his clone bring the slabs that had people on them up the shaft for some fresh air, hopefully they wouldn't freak out and fall to their doom forcing Orochi to catch then as he had him, when he fell over the railing at the royal palace of Sai.

Moving to another part of the mine, Kurai slowly placed a cloak made out of his ravens around him, hiding more of his features as he walked, and sensed where there were still people trapped in the mine.

When he found a bunch, he simply brought out his magic, had it form ethereal arms and hands, and proceeded to remove the rocks, then dump them into a hole created by an arm made out of dragon's fire. He then followed that up with a hole in the ceiling of the tunnel he was in using another arm. Then from out of his cloak came a kochou, one of his big crowlike shirei. On it was a clone of himself, ready to control the kochou that were sure to follow.

As the first new survivor was found, the person was dropped into a floating bird cage, the hole in which the kochou was to fly up through was big enough for two of them to fly out at a time, while carrying the cage full of people in it. Each person removed from the rubble was dropped in a cage, or hoisted up to one of the kochou present in the area. After each cage was filled, a kochou would grab hold of it, and fly a little higher into the shaft, awaiting all the survivors of the tunnel to be placed in the cages, or on a kochou. When all the people were loaded, Kurai had his shirei fly up and out of the mine through the shaft. Then he moved on to another tunnel, there were a lot of them, and he could feel that a lot of people were still within the mine.

*

While the Kurai and Kikai, and the clones searched for people in the mines, the people that had already escaped the mines, did not know what to do with themselves, or even how to react to the situation that they found themselves in. They all found themselves riding on the back of a giant youma, one that was known for causing minor storms out at sea, and that ate other youma. Perched on its back were a number of smaller crowlike youma, called kochou. Even more interesting were the set people that looked like one another, clearly the people of this world had never encountered twins, much less triplets in their life, or any kind of multiple people that looked alike.

They people simply sat on the back of the monster, some had received some food, while others waited for their own. They were being passed around by people wearing cloaks and masks, and that had come out of the clouds above them as if they had flown on the winds. They introduced themselves as Karasu, all of them introduced themselves as Karasu. As each one arrived, they paid their respects to their master, whom the people learned was named Kurai, the very same man that had helped them out of the mines. They claimed that the men that looked alike were copies of the their master, and the other man that they must have seen was another servant of their master.

Some of the ravens had informed the people that they had come all the way from Tai, once they had heard that their master may need their help. When the people asked them how they knew as their master was kingdoms away from Tai, the ravens answered that they simply just knew, or sensed that their master somehow needed their aid, and so they came. They flew on the winds, and through shoku that made their journey faster.

After the arrival of a few more ravens, a kijyuu arrived, and on its back was a human being, or more precisely a sennin, one of the few surviving ones of Tai.

"When can we expect the medicine to be sent to Tai?" the man was heard asking one of the Kurai.

"I have yet to negotiate for some, but I'm sure that I can keep the people alive for a little while longer," Kurai answered through his clone, "None have worsened in their condition as I have been expending some of my power to help them."

"Y-you've been doing that from over here? W-why?" the sennin asked Kurai, not understanding how one person, one being could and would willingly do that, it must have been extremely tiring and taxing work, "You should be exhausted!"

"I am..but as a friend once said 'I have enough strength for this,'" Kurai said, as his clone simply stared at the clouds, then the one beside it suddenly shouted, "Incoming!"

The sennin didn't seem to understand what Kurai meant, but it seemed as if some of the miners knew what the man meant, as they moved to the side of the back of giant serpent, and looked over the edge, the serpent had forced some scales ot form ridges or railings to ensure that none of the people fell off of him. The sennin followed suit, and was greeted by the sight of metal cages shooting up through the clouds, and being caught by the talons of the kochou that flew over to bring them over to the serpent's back.

"Amazing," the sennin said, then asked, "How many more are there?"

"So far we've collected roughly two hundred fifty something people, one hundred and twenty five of which are women, fifty are children, and the rest are men, we haven't found a single hanjyuu as of yet," Kurai informed the man, "We'll bring them to the capital of Shun once we've got them all, and proably get the medicine there."

"Oh..do you intend to bring any of them back to Tai along with the medicine?" the sennin asked.

"Not unless any of them want to, I wont force anyone, just as I haven't forced anyone to leave Tai," Kurai said.

"Gyoubou, it looks like I will have to concentrate on something else," Kurai said, then his clones vanished into nothingness, which not only alarmed the sennin named Gyoubou, but also the rest of the people, what could have happened to make their savior do such a thing.

They all then noticed that some of the kochou were taking to the air, followed closely by roughly half of the ravens, and the giant serpent seemed to be wanting to follow suit for some reason, but chose to remain in place.

Gyoubou approached one of the remaining ravens to inquire as to why the other ravens and the kochou had left all of a sudden and why the giant serpent, Orochi, had seemed to want to leave his post.

"Master Kurai has encountered something that is giving even he, a hard time, there is something down there, deep within the mines that has caused the lot of us, his servants to feel his distress at the situation," the raven explained as he too looked as if he wanted to leave his post and join the fray deep within the earth.

"Go then, I'll take care of the people here, I'm sure some are well enough to help," Gyoubou offered, "The more of you who join your master, the more Orochi will feel at ease."

"Kindly explain to the people why we are leaving them for the time being," the raven said as he accepted Gyoubou's offer, and jumped off of the serpent's back, and dived down below the clouds.

Noticing that there were still a few people that had no food or drink yet, the sennin grabbed some out of the packed goods in the baskets that the ravens had brought with them, and began to walk around, handing out the good to the people, while at the same time explaining why the ravens, and the kochou had left them. He and the people noticed that the serpent they were on began to relax as more and more of his comrades joined their master in the mines below.

Some people asked him who he was, and he had to explain that he was the only sennin left of Tai, and served as the interim ruler of Tai, and was in Shun to ask about the medicinal water that Tai needed. When asked why he of all people had been elected to go to Shun, he said that who else could he send, as every other person in the land was either too sick, or too weak to go anywhere. There was also the fact that the ravens, and by proxy Kurai trusted him. There were bandits that plagued the land, as well as greedy and corrupt officials, but out of all the healthy people, he was the most trusted by all of them.

By talking to the people the sennin began to piece together the reason why the people looked as they did even though Shun was a stable country. They had apparently been bought and sold on the black market as slaves, and were forced into performing manual labor within the mines, but away from the underground springs from which the medicinal water came from. They had come from impoverished regions of all of the kingdoms of the world. But a lot of them were from Hou, Kou, and Tai, while some of them were from Kei, Ryuu, and Sai. A number of them were found out of the loop of the way things were, they were born not from ranka which was the fruit that bore all life, a seed which contained within it people, animals, and of course plants came from seeds too. They were in the manner by which the people of Hourai or Wa were born. Hourai or was what the people of the twelve kingdoms called Japan, which was located to the east of Kei. To the north of Ryuu was the mythological China, to the west was India, and to the south, well no one really had any theories about that. For some reason Tentei had blocked off any shoku from dragging people from India, the southern gate grabbed people occassionally, but no one knew from where, Tentei believed it to be from a random place every time, a little bit more chaos in his supposedly perfect world. The Southern sea was actually how Kikai had made his way to the world of the twelve kingdoms. China couldn't have storms as it was the emperor that summoned up the storm and sent a select number of people to the world of the twelve kingdoms, but eventually people forgot how to do that. The last person to be brought to the world of the twelve kingdoms through the gate or shoku from China was Kurai.

The people that the sennin were surrounded by were an anomaly in the world, how could something s fundamentally wrong have occurred, the sennin did not know, but he vowed to find out, or at least ask Kurai to find out, as the man seemed intent on finding mysteries, and problems to solve.

Before his thoughts could return to how Kurai was doing in the mines down below, Gouybou and the people witnessed as some fifty mini shoku appared out of no where only the tell tale winds of the shoku suddenly appearing which told the people of their sudden appearance. From out of the shokus were Kiki, the rabid doglike youma or shirei of Kurai, all of them had arrived, and they all quickly made their way down and into the mines to aid their master in whatever it was that was happening down there.

Due to the sickness that was plagueing the land of Tai, Gyoubou was sure that it was alright for the protectors of Kurai's land to leave their posts, as even the youma and criminal elements of the country had succumbed to the sickness, the few that hadn't were too few to mount an offensive against the many defenses that peppered the perimeter of Kurai's home and hideout.

A few minutes after the Kiki had arrived, the clouds below the serpent turned black, and the people could feel the heat coming from below the clouds, as if the mine had become a volcano all of a sudden. The people on Orochi's back began to worry for their savior, while the serpent seemed intent on simply staringat the smoke coming out from below the clouds.

Suddenly, and surely without warning, Kiki, Kochou, and ravens began darted from out of the smoke, each one of them were carrying people, some looked like animals, but the people and the sennin, soon realized that they were hanjyuu. Gyoubou had forgotten to ask about the hanjyuu, and here they all were, arriving one beastman at a time. Once the shirei had dropped off its cargo it darted back down into the fire filled mines.

"The hanjyuu are still alive!" some people cried out.

"There must be something we can do!" others said out loud.

Gyoubou had enlisted some of the healthier looking people to help him hand out the supplies, then he left he supply handling to those people as he made his way to Hyakko.

"Ask Orochi if there is anything we can do to make the evacuation smoother," Gyoubou requested the tiger kijyuu to do, and with a nod Hyakko flew off in the direction of the serpent's head.

When Hyakko returned to the sennin, he beckoned him to get on his back. Once the sennin was firmly in place, the pair flew to the head of the great serpent.

"What do you need of me Orochi?" the sennin asked.

"Tell the people to hold on," Orochi said, "I'm flying down, who cares for secrecy now!"

The sennin was then flown on top of the head of the serpent, then in a loud voice shouted for all those riding to hear.

"Hold on tight! We're going down!" the sennin shouted as loud as his lungs would allow him to, then after few minutes grabbed jumped back on Hyakko who flew him the length and bredth of Orochi so that he may reannouce the order. When he was done, he accompanied the serpent in his descent.

While they moved down, to around the mountain and below the clouds, the youma were still flying out of the smoke continously dropping off another beastman.

*

The mountain villages had long since evacuated their people and moved to find safety within the city at the foot of the mountain. There, they along with the city residents watched as the top of the mountain that they based half of their livelihood on was blown off, and smoke began to rise out of the hole that had been created. Not a slow flow of smoke, but thick black smoke, as if a fire raged uncontrolled from within the mountain, and within the mines.

Then when they thought that things couldn't get any worse, they watched as a giant serpent descended from the heavens and coiled itself around the mountain. The people even spotted movement on the back of the great beast, as well as smaller things moving to and from the mountain.

A man with a telescope took a look at the back of the serpent, and was surprised to find people on it, moving about, all looking worse for wear. He then noticed that riding on a kijyuu that flew up and down the serpent was wearing the robes of an official or of a ruler. Something was definitely not right, so the man sent a message to a friend of his at the capital of Shun, as well as a message to the provincial lord of his province.

Some two hours later, some of the provincial army began to appear on the horizon, all of whom were riding kijyuu, and were heading for the city fast. Once they landed they asked for the man that had sent the message, the man's name was Shin.

"Are you Shin?" the general of the provincial army that was directed to the man with the telescope asked.

"I am, how can I help you general," Shin asked.

"As the man that sent the message, I believed that you would be the best person to brief me on the situation," the general said, "So what can you tell me, and why did you say in your letter not to attack the youma?"

"You must have felt the earthquake that shook the coutnry earlier, I'm sure that it caused cave-ins in the mines in the mountain," Shin said, "On the back of the youma there are people, almost five hundred of them, all of them in ragged clothes, I also saw an official riding on a white tiger kijyuu," Shin handed the general his telescope, "If you look, you might catch a glimpse of the man that I am talking about."

The general did, so and knew that something was definitely up, as he did not recognize the official that looked to be overseeing the operation, he also noticed that there were many youma dropping people off on the back of the serpent that was coiled around the mountain. He also noticed that Shin had said almost five hundred, but in truth there really just shy of four hundred, but at the rate that people were being added the number was sure to climb to about six hundred.

The puzzling thing was that the capital had not contacted him about their Taiho directing his shirei to perform this rescue effort. But still they were there, dozens of youma moving in and out of the mountain. Then there was also the official on the kijyuu overseeing everything.

"Shin, I want you to keep watch of the situation, and inform the men I'm leaving you of any changes, while you do that I'll try and see who the official over there is," the general said.

"Yes sir!" Shin said as he looked through his spyglass searching for any changes in the situation.

The general on the other hand gathered some of his men and mounted his kijyuu, and took off in the direction of the mountain.

Shortly after leaving the safety of the ground the general was near the official and still did not recognize the official. But before he could call out to the official he and his escort were suddenly swamped by an unkindness of ravens.

"Stop it you lot! Get back to work! I'm sure that if they meant us harm they would have simply attacked!" the official shouted to the ravens, and the ravens listened and flew back into the mountain.

Gyoubou then motioned for Hyakko to move closer to the military officer that had come to greet him or whatever.

"Who are you?" the general asked as Gyoubou approached.

"I am Gyoubou, interim ruler of Tai, and behind me are the sirvivors of the cave-ins of the mines," the sennin answered.

"What is your business here? I find it hard to believe that another country's ruler would travel so far just to oversee a rescue effort," the general said.

"Oroginally I had sent word to a friend that was in Sai to fetch Tai some medicine, and since Shun is best known for her medicinal water he came here," the sennin explained as Hyakko barked out orders to the crows that came by for direction, "While going through the mountain, my friend got caught up in the earthquake which eventually led him to help get the survivors to safety."

"Alright, that might explain why you are here, but what about all the youma, don't tell me those are kijyuu that simply look like youma," the general said.

"No, those really are youma," the sennin said nonchalantly, "They are my friend's servants, same goes for the crows."

"What?! Impossible! Only a kirin has that much pull and power in the world, do you mean to say that you are friends with the Sai Taiho?" the general asked disbelievingly.

"Ahh..well..not exactly..I don't really know what my friend is, but I do know that he is like a kirin," the sennin said, "The reason why the jyouyou is coiled around the mountain is because its easier to get survivors to safety that way."

"Safety?! That's a jyouyou! One of the most dangerous youma in the world! How is that safe?!" the general shouted, the people on the serpent's back that heard the shout didn't really pay the declaraton any mind as they were too busy tending to the injured beastmen, as well as the fact that they knew that the serpent they were on would not harm them as it had so many opportunities to.

"Just trust in their safety, and if you have no plans on helping, the nget out of here, as the worst is yet to come," the sennin said as he prepared to return to the serpent.

"Wait," the general called out, then asked, "What of your friend, where is your friend?"

"He is...within the raging inferno that is within and below the mountain..." the sennin said hesistantly as if he did not want to think about the fact that such an important person to the impoverished people of Tai was down their fighting something with the help of only one of his servants.

"Is that where all the hanjyuu are coming from? What is he doing there?" the general wanted to know.

"He is battling with a catlike youma made out of the burning flames of Yomi," Hyakko answered the general before the sennin could respond, "Now we really have to stop this chat, as I sense that something big is going to happen soon."

Just as Hyakko said that something big was going to happen, his prediction came true. A large part of the side of the mountain cracked and blew up, raining chunks of the mountain on the city below the mountain.

"Karasu! Defend the city!" Gyoubou shouted out, the ravens were quick to rush to the defense of the city, catching and destroying what rocks and chunks of the mountain that they could. The cloaks that the ravens wore that were made out of their feathers, transformed into wings which the ravens then used to cause strong winds to blow the chunks of the mountain in directions that would ensure that no one got hurt, save for some plants.

"Kochou! Move the survivors out of the way, or get rid of those mountain chunks!" Hyakko shouted as Gouybou ordered the ravens. The Kochou were quick to respond and did as the ravens, and blew the rocks away from the people, and the city.

All those that were watching the events saw that the hole in the mountain was made be some kind of monster slamming into that part of the mountain, the side of the mountain that was blown up and off, was one of the peaks of the mountain, in its place was the head of a mighty catlike youma.

It yowled and hissed in great pain from being slammed into and partially out of the side of a mountain, but as it laid its eyes on the city below the mountain, its painfilled cried turned into growls as it gazed at the city.

"Orochi! Get out of there!" Hyakko and Gyoubou shouted out to the serpent, which complied with the order, which was a good thing, as the youma had managed to free a leg from within the mountain and tried to take a piece out of the serpent, the people on his back did not need to be told to hold on tight.

"Lord Gyoubou! What do you want us to do?" the general called out after getting over his shock at what he had witnessed and heard. He couldn't belive that there was someone in the mountain that had been keeping that youma at bay, while his servants got the people to safety.

"Help the Karasu get the people to Orochi's back!" Gyoubou shouted out as he and Hyakko darted into the mountain in search of the friend, and in Hyakko's case master.

"You men heard the man! Go help those youma!" the general said, which surprised him that he had actually done soemthing that he thought he would never say in his lifetime.

"Yes sir!" his soldiers said, as they quickly made their way to the youma and ravens that were flying out of the mountain carrying people in their grasps.

A few long minutes passed before the general saw the sennin and the white kijyuu again, they were carrying with them a man in a jade cheongsam.

"Who is he? Your friend?" the general asked the sennin as he neared him.

"He is one of my friend's servants, the one that had been helping my friend keep that cat at bay," the sennin said, "We must quickly join Orochi, for my friend will be dealing with that youma soon enough."

"What do you mean?" the general asked.

But before the sennin could answer, the cat managed to free itself completely from the mountain, and leaped in the direction of the city, but it was stopping in mid air. Something at had gotten a hold of its tail.

"Where do you think you're going!" were the words that were heard echoing off of what remained of the mountain, "Either serve me or die!" Kurai shouted as he pulled the cat by its tail back into the mountain.

"Let go of me Majin! I need my revenge upon this land that betrayed me!" the flame covered catlike demon shouted back, its voice sounding a little bit feminine.

"That your friend then?" the general asked the sennin.

"Apparently, and apparently the youma is the spirit of one of the deposed rulers of Shun," Gyoubou observed.

*

High above the heavens, in the realm of the gods, Tentei watched the proceedings, and was not pleased at what he found, someone had managed to steal away the powers of one of his kirin, while hiding away another. He could not interfere and hoped against hope that that bastard Kurai would solve his problems, which he most likely would as the young man had chosen to make Tentei's problems his own.

"How'd a bakeneko get there!? I didn't make that!" Tentei shouted, some of the other gods heard him, and decided to have a look for themselves, and they found it quite disturbing that such a catlike youma had come into existence.

"Someone has tempered with the Will of Heaven without my knowledge?!" Tentei screamed, the heavens rumbling in the scream's wake, "How could this happen?!"

"Perhaps..." one of the Shi-Tien Yen-Wang, or gods of the underworld, began to speak, but was cut off by another one of his number.

"Too much interaction with other worlds has led to the anomalies that have been popping up over time," one of the Lords of Death theorized.

"Or one among us in the heavens has found a way to usurp your power, Lord Tentei," another of the Lords of Death said, "Or is trying to usurp your power, it would explain how Taiki had vanished without even our knowledge, as he and his chosen master did not visit any of our halls."

"Then I guess we will just have to leave the mystery solving to Karasu no Kurai, the chosen of the Gods of the Crossworlds..." Tentei said, only semi liking his chosen path.

*

Within the mountain, Kurai was busy bashing around the cat, whose flames he had gotten used to. "How'd you get to go from deposed, and surely long dead ruler of Shun to a bakeneko?" Kurai asked, while he flung the cat into another, wall as the cat sent a gout of hellfire in his direction.

"Why should I tell you!? You don't even care about my reason for revenge!" the bakeneko shouted.

They were several miles underneath the mountain, and no one would be able to hear them shouting at one another.

"Fine! Why do you want revenge on the people of Shun! You clearly still care for them!" Kurai shouted as he threw a ball of water at the cat.

"They had me killed! That's why! An eye for an eye! Don't you have that where you come from!" the cat shouted back as she sent another gout of flames in Kurai's direction.

"You must have done something that they didn't like! What did you do anyway!?" Kurai asked as he dodged out of the way as a massive paw almost stomped down on him.

"I only had every man that would not accept me as the ruler excecuted!" the cat shouted.

"That's it! That's what you did!? Why in the world did you think to do that!?" Kurai asked as he phased through the ground in order to avoid a number of burning boulders that were thrown in his direction.

"What was I supposed to do?! I was doing everything else they told me to do, the country kept getting better due to all the decisions that I made!" she screamed as she exploded in fire, scorching the earth an stone around the two combatants even more than it already was, which forced Kurai to be partially intangible in order not to touch the molten floor and get his feet burned.

"Well, you could have done something to prove to them that you were worth respecting!" Kurai shouted, recalling that a number of the present rulers in the world were women, and one young teen or girl.

"How would I have done something like that! They wouldn't let me!" the cat screamed, while at the same time sounding as if she were beginning to cry.

"A ruler is strong and shouldn't be cowed easily! You should have bent them to your will and not the other way around, and simply excecuted them or banished them!" Kurai shouted, as he had to free his sword from between a boulder and a molten hot hard place, "Stop feeling sorry for yourself! I know you are! It's making me feel bad for trying to kill you!"

"Then accept fate and simply die!" she said as she thought she caught him off guard by biting down on his position, what she didn't count on was his ability to create shoku at will, and on a whim, "Why wont you just sit still and die! Accept your fate!"

"Your people expected you to rule! To govern! I'm sure the women of Shun expected you to take charge and do something other than allow men to rule your lives!" Kurai shouted as he was back between a boulder and a molten hot hard place, "You were their hope for a brighter future! I guess you were just too stuck up, and feeling sorry for your inability to rule that you simply decided to go with the easiy way to solve your problems!"

"I hate people like you! Always telling me how to think!" she screeched out, causing Kurai to drop to the ground his ears in pain from the inhuman screech.

"The man who gave me this power told me that I could avenge myself, I may have become a youma, but I know that I have the power to destroy the country that betrayed me!" she screeched before delivering what should have been the death blow, had Kurai not lashed out with his sword and thrust it into the paw of the giant cat which actually forced her to stop her attack as the pain was simply unbearable. Kurai had infused his sword with his magic, making it devour the cat's available power.

"He probably gave you that power to cause you to destroy your country, then after that deed was done, he would either console you and use you to do whatever else he wished, or take back the power," Kurai said, "Who'd willingly give such tremendous power, if there was nothing in it for the person, obviously this person that gave you your power wanted you to destroy Shun, and possibly destabilize the world."

Kurai then paused, and withdrew his sword from the cat's paw, and he watched as the cat became the ghost of her former self, a young woman, around his age give or take a few hundred years. While he sheathed his sword in its scabbard at his hip, he gathered the power that he had collected and poured it into a crystal for later.

"Now that you've calmed down a little, and I have taken that power from you, is there anything you would like to tell me?" Kurai asked the former Shun-o.

"I didn't like feeling like I was still looked down on, I thought that by being the Shun-o I would get instant respect, I thought that as long as I did what the officials and ministers told me to do, everyone would be happy, and the men would respect me, but even my kirin did not seem to approve of me," she said, "I didn't like the feeling, and since I could order people to be punished as I was the ruler, I did what I did to try and boost my ego...I know now that it was wrong...but still...they had me killed over something like that, weren't they greatful that the country was prospering? Then that man came and gave me that power, he then showed me that the Shun-o was a woman, and that the people loved and respected her...I don't know...I just got so mad and tried to make my way to the capital..." she paused to catch her breath, then continued, "But someone stopped me, and managed to seal me under the mountain, it was another man, he told me that I was not yet needed...I can't remember what they looked like...but I guess now it doesn't matter...I'm powerless to do anything, and you're going to kill me now..." then instead of saying anything else she just seemed to loose it and just cried her heart out, which not surprisingly sounded like how a cat would sound if a cat ever cried.

Kurai then moved closer to her, and drew something from within himself, she did not know what it was but she recoiled when he had moved closer to her, afraid that he was about to deal the death blow, and end her second life, end her existence. Instead she all her fighting, and trying to kill him was rewarded with him draping a cloak around her shoulders covering her body.

"Huh?" she noticed the cloak that covered her body, and stared up at Kurai who had resumed his standing infront of him, "Aren't you going to kill me?"

"What would the point be? You no longer have the power to be of any threat to anyone anymore, so why should I kill you?" Kurai asked as he slowly leaned against the wall, molten hot or no, his clothes were heat resistent, and what was a little heat compared to a crying former queen infront of him.

"But I tried to kill you, I chose death by doing that," she said.

"Oh, so you did," Kurai said as if remembering something he had forgot, so he drew his sword out, and held it over his head, as if in preparation for cutting off her head, "Since you want to die so badly, I guess I can do that," he than began to bring down the sword.

"Please don't kill me!" she cried out, and shut her eyes tight, expecting Kurai not to hear her, or pay her any mind, then she mumbled on and one the same words, "I don't want to die, I don't want to die," over and over again.

Then when she started to wonder why she still felt alive, she decided to chance looking at Kurai, whom she saw was talking to a raven, while he leaned against a wall, his sword in its scabbard.

"Just tell everyone that I'm fine, and that I found a girl while fighting the cat," Kurai told the bird.

"B-but what if they don't believe me?" the bird asked hesitantly.

"You do know that I can take back all of your personalities, right?" Kurai asked rhetorically, "Anyway, just say that alright?"

"Fine, fine, you do know that the provincial army has surrounded the mountain, and that the royal army of Shun is on its way, right?" the bird retorted.

"Yes, yes, I know, I'm not deaf you know, though, my ears still are ringing from that god awful screech from a few minutes ago," Kurai complained to the bird, laughing a little.

"Alright, alright," the bird said as it prepared itself to take flight, "I'm going, I'm going, just don't take too long, Kikai might worry," the bird them finally took off up the chasm that led to the cavern that Kurai and the former Shun-o were in.

"Now that that's out of the way, I guess that you chose life then?" Kurai said looking down on his companion.

"I..yes..but what's to become of me now?" she asked.

"Well the other choice was to submit to me..so..how bout it?" Kurai asked as he began to kneel in front of her.

"I...will...serve..." she decided to resign herself to her fate, at least she was alive, but then remembered that he hadn't answered one of her question, "But you still haven't told me why you were so willing to fight."

"Isn't it obvious?" Kurai asked, at her shake of her head, he continued his answer, "I chose to protect my servants, and those people that we were saving, from..well..you and from harm..I noticed that you weren't alone."

"Ah..the other one that was with me, claimed that he had a similar power to mine, and was living somewhere upstairs, I think he was the one who looked like one third man, one third leapord, and one third snake," she answered his unasked question.

"And what of what he was doing with all those hanjyuu?" he asked.

"I guess, he found a way, or his power was over transformation, so..uh..he was absorbing the kind of beast that those hanjyuu were..." she said unsure of her answer.

"Well...I guess I know at least what else I'll have to deal with in the future..." he said, then he stood up once again, then asked, "So what type of relationship do you want to have with me?"

His question had caught her off guard so she didn't answer right away, as she didn't know how to answer that kind of question.

'_Was he asking me to marry him? Become his mistress? Servant? Slave? What does he mean? How do I answer?_' were the things that made up her thoughts after he asked her that one question.

"I think you might be over thinking things, I'll make it easier for you to chose," Kurai said sensing her inner turmoil, "Do you want to become my servant? Or my slave? Or something altogether?"

"Uhm...servant?" she answered.

"Is that a definite answer?" Kurai asked.

"It...it is.." she answered.

"Well...since you are still a kind of youma, I might as well follow proceedure, but unlike kirin at least I can anul the contract..." Kurai mumbled to himself as he gathered up his energies.

"Rin Byou Tou Sha Kai Jin Retsu Zen Gyou," he said with practiced ease, his arms not needing to perform the motions that would direct his magic as he had total control over that particular energy, then continued, "Shinchoku Meichoku, Tensei Chisei, Jinkun Seikun, Fuo Fudaku, Kimi Koubuku, Onmyou Wagou, Kyuu Kyuu Nyo Ritsu Ryou," the power that he had let out was overwhelming, and caused her to look down as if to bow, she did not know what to do, then she heard him say to final words that sealed her fate, "Submit, Eiko."

Upon hearing those last two words she fully kowtowed infront of him, her head pressed against the rocky floor. Then she heard him speak, she didn't know whether he was speaking to her, or to himself.

"You know, as much as your naked form is kind of pleasing to the eye, and that cloak covers you up quite nicely, I think you need something a bit more less revealing," Kurai said.

"Huh?" Eiko said, then she looked down on her self and noticed that she was wearing only the cloak that he had covered her with. She noticed that she had a bit of a light blue tinge in the color of her skin, she looked a bit pale, but at the same time there was a hint of sky blue.

"I've heard of people look a bit blue, but I guess you really take the cake!" Kurai said after some thought, as well as assessing her looks trying to figure out what would look best for her, most of his clothes were for men, but he did have a few outfits for women.

She had blue colored slanted eyes, sky blue the same as the hue of blue in her skin, her face was round, aside from a cute nose, she also had thin soft pink lips. She also had thick long black hair, but at the tips there was a hint of blue should light hit it just right, like the light that illuminated the darkness that they were in which was a miniature sun that Kurai had created at the beginning of the battle and he had it follow him around. She had somewhat long and slender legs, as well as average sized breasts, based on what Kurai had seen of the women of the world of the twelve kingdoms, though he hadn't seen many without any clothes on.

Kurai then decided that for Eiko he would have her wear a blue chongsam with silver leaves or bamboo type designs, straw sandals, and he'd have to do something about her hair, he didn't think it would be right for her hair to simply drop down her back.

So as he got out the clothes that he had chosen, Eiko thinking that he was pulling things out of thin air, he also pulled out a decorative hair comb, as well as a make-up kit, along with another raven.

"Have Gyoubou come in here, tell him I need help with something," Kurai told the raven, and it flew off, not wanting to argue with its master.

"Eiko," Kurai said, which made her actually focus on him, "Get dressed, I'm sure you know how to put the clothes on, but do it quickly unless you want the interim ruler of Tai to see you in only a cloak."

Good thing that she could move as fast as she did, for as soon as she had finally put the cheongsam on Gyoubou arrived on the back of Hyakko.

"Who's she?" the sennin asked refering to Eiko.

"Eiko, my newest servant," Kurai enthusiastically answered, "If you're wondering, she's the bakeneko I was trying to slay earlier."

"Oh...so...since you've apparently clothed her, and adopted her of a sort...what do you need me here for?" the sennin asked.

"I need you to make sure that she doesn't move," Kurai said, "Now that she's clothed, I want you to have her sit on Hyakko, and make sure that she doesn't move."

"O....k...what are you planning on doing to her?" Gyoubou asked.

"I'm going to fix her up a bit," Kurai said, in his hands were the many tools of beautification that he had on hand, he had grown two extra pairs of arms just for the terror he was about to unleash.

When Eiko was finally held firmly in place by Gouybou, the sennin and the kijyuu closed their eyes in fear.

"Gyoubou stop shaking, you'll lose your grip, Hyakko stop shivering I'm not going to turn you purple or pink," Kurai said as he moved in on his prey, Eiko was trembling for some reason, she had apparently found her new master scary as heck, if the grin that was plastered on his face didn't make him look psychotic, Eiko couldn't think of anything else that would freak her out even more.

To add more terror to what his three companions were feeling, he added a third eye to his forehead to allow his to have a better view on what he was doing. Then he did something that made a popping sound be heard. When Eiko took a better look at Kurai's clothes she noticed that he was wearing an apron with red stains on it, as well as the words _Kiss the Killer_ on it.

Kurai freaked her out even more when some more arms grew out of his sides, each hand holding something in its grasp, from a simple paint brush, to a small mirror. Then came the freakiest part, a chair suddenly popped out of his ass, which he was quick to sit on, which he followed up by beginning the beautification process.

*

Some time had passed since Gyoubou had entered the no longer smoking mountain and failed to come out. The provincial army had been joined in by the royal army, along with Shun-o herself. All were staring at the gaping hole that the bakeneko had been seen to break out of and get pulled back into.

Then all of a sudden they all heard someone screaming at the top of his lungs.

"Get the hell away from me!!!" it was Gyoubou with a panicked look on his face, Hyakko whom he was riding also had a look of pure undulated fear etched on his visage, they moved at such a speed, that some of the youma thought that they would crash into another mountain somewhere before they did slam into something. Gyoubou and Hyakko had slammed into the side of Orochi, both mumbling apologies, then suddenly remembering the reason that had rushed out of the mountain in such a hurry.

The reason for their irrational fear became apparent as something shot out of the mountain, it too was screaming.

"Get back here you louts! I still need to paint you pink for making me redo all of my work twice!" the youma recognized the voice as that of their master, the ravens went so far as to drag the two coweing and hiding forms out of their hiding place, and brought them before Kurai who was in his animagus form. He had Eiko ride on his back, while he held paint buckets of pink paint in his ethereal arms.

"Pinkification time boys!" Kurai shouted maniacally as he poured the pink paint on the two males.

After the two males were pinkified, Kurai flew in the direction of Orochi and landed, but before he transformed back into a man he had Eiko dismount him.

When he reverted back to human form he wore his cheongsam, and not the apron he had on while he was _working_. He then took a look around, enhancing his sight to allow him to see everything that he needed and wanted to see while not having to move from his spot.

"Well now that that's done, I can get to negotiating for the medicinal water," Kurai said as if he had not just done a bunch of things that would normally leave someone tired.

Kikai who was near him them approached him after he had spoken about his only remaining agenda.

"Uh, Kurai..Gyoubou already negotiated with the Shun-o...they're just waiting for you to give the word to lower the cave-in survivors, as well as debrief the Shun-o of what had transpired within the mountain while all the youma and the like were buzzing in and out," Kikai said, "Also...ah..she may be wondering about your animagus form."

"Point me then," Kurai ordered Kikai, then said, "The sooner I get this over and done with the sooner I can go to sleep."

"Right this way, master," Kikai said, then as an afterthought asked, "What about the girl?"

"Come along Eiko," Kurai said, then explained the girl's new importance, "She's one of you servants, she was the cat."

"Understood," Kikai said as he lead his master to the Shun-o.

*

"So I take it that you are Karasu no Kurai," Shun-o asked Kurai after he bowed to her, bending to the waist, in an uncharacteristic show of respect.

Shun-o was a woman that looked to be in her mid-thirties, with long black hair, hazel-nut brown eyes, and was of average height.

"That I am, your magesty," he answered her pleasantly, then sat on an offered chair.

They were seated on one part of Orochi's body, some chairs and a table were set up for the Shun-o and her kirin.

"What are you?" she asked him, a bit intrigued at how he had managed to take the shape of a kirin.

"I am many things, hehe, specifically what about me do you wish to know?" he asked her.

"What are you? You can't be human with those abilities," she said.

"You are right, I am not human, I am like you in some ways, but in others I am not," he vaguely explained.

"I know that I cannot demand anything of you, but at least can you explain how you are able to do the things that you have done?" Shun-o asked.

"I'm afraid that I cannot, just be happy that you know that I can do the things that I can do, and that I use my powers to do good, rather than battle with Tentei for control of the world," Kurai said, laughing a little upon recalling his battle with the god of the world.

"Very well," Shun-o said slightly disappointed at not really learning anything new, then moved on to other matters, "What happened in the mines? And what happened to the giant catlike youma?"

"As I and Kikai were searching for more survivors we came upon a place that seemed to be devoid of anything, and we found it quite suspicious, so we investigated," Kurai began to tell his tale, "After removing some rubble from the area, we chanced upon the sight of a small hanjyuu looking creature and the bakeneko that everyone saw, but before we could get to the smaller figure he had said something to the bakeneko. While battling the bekeneko, I sensed some more survivors, or rather some more people, I had been wondering where all the hanjyuu were being kept and found them all, not all of them alive, and so I summoned accidentally summoned my servants to me, they felt my distress at the situation and came to my aid," Kurai said and motioned for Kikai to continue as he rested for a bit.

"After the arrival of the rescue units, we proceeded to fight back against the giant cat, and managed to push it deeper within the mine, we were not aware that there was the possibility of there being pockets of methane, and by smashing into them with the flaming cat whose flames were as hot as hell, we managed to set of a chain reaction of explosions, which resulted in the mountain looking like a newly erupting volcano," Kikai said, paused for a moment to catch his breath and recall the events that had transpired within the mountain, then continued, "Due to the explosions we were separated, he had been blown somewhere below, while I was left with the cat, and battled her until I got hit hard, which resulted in my having to be brought out of the mountain, Master Kurai arrived just at the right moment to stay the death blow from reaching me, he blew the cat back with one attack and managed to have her head pop out of the mountain for a time," Kikai said then caught his breath and break as Kurai rejoined he conversation.

"I left the cat to her own devices as I tended to Kikai as well as searched for some more survivors and the like, finding none I went out to drag the cat back in before she could do any irrepairable damage," Kurai said, paused for a bit as it seemed as if he was short of breath, then continued as he caught his breath, "I dragged her back into her den, then we fought for a time in there, banging up the place, until it began to look like the inside of a cauldron, after a while I had managed to steal her power, and sealed it into a crystal, and some stuff happened and, she can tell you her reasons for wanting to destroy Shun-o as well as the fact that she has turned over a new leaf," Kurai ended his tale, and motioned for Eiko to tell her side of the story, or her part of the story.

After she told her tale, the present ruler was amazed by the story, as well as the fact that sitting with her was one of the former rulers of Shun, the first female ruler in all of the twelve kingdoms, herself. She told the young looking woman that she would not be punished, but would not be allowed to travel the streets and pathways of Shun unescorted as a mere precaution.

When their conversation had ended, Kurai joined the conversation once again.

"Kikai tells me that the negotiation for the water had ended while I was still in the mountain, I thank you for whatever deal my people, or Gyoubou were able to make an agreement with you on," Kurai said bowing once again, "I fear that I must now bid you farewell, as the people of Tai need their medicines, and I..." Kurai was unable to finish his statement as he collapsed in a heap on the back of Orochi.

"Master!" his surrounding servants shouted as they saw him collapse, none of them were quick enough to catch him.

Kikai approached him and checked his vitals to make sure that he was still alive, and confirmed that he was still alive. When Gyoubou arrived he looked over his friend, having some background in medicine, he determined that his friend was simply extremely exhausted. The strain of staying the cold hands of death from touching the people of Tai, while going around the world, as well as battling with two powerful youma, as well as taming them and turning them into his servants, had been simply too much for him, even as powerful as he was, he still had only limited power, and stamina.

Some of the ravens dropped down near their master and joined together to form a stretcher of sorts, wthe transformation prompted more questions to form in the head of Shun-o, who really wanted to know what was happening as she was forced to watch the proceedings. While she watched Kurai's servants swarm and fuss around him, she couldn't seem to not worry about him as well, as well as feel a little bit jealous in the fact that he had so many people that, well not really people, cared so much about him, even the massive serpent that she was on moved its head to just to see if his master was alright.

"Don't start worrying about him too, he wont like you more if you do," Kikai said from beside the ruler, she had not noticed his approach.

"How do you know that? Didn't you just become his servant recently?" Shun-o asked.

"I've known him longer than any of his other servants, we met in a past life you could say," Kikai said, "But back then we were mortal enemies, each wanting to kill the other."

"But here you are, serving him," Shun-o observed.

"Yes, he has a thing about saving people, as well as wanting those he sees as friends and family to be happy," Kikai said, "He gave me the choice of death, and self fulfilment, I chose my goal of immortality over the end of all things, and I have grown to care for him."

"What did you mean by that thing that you said earlier, the part about him not liking me more if I cared?" she asked him.

"His past life was filled with hardship, part of it was my fault actually, he was also betrayed by many people that he thought cared for him," Kikai admitted, "But I guess it is in his nature to want to help others, as well as make friends, and build bridges with people, he made friends with me after all."

"But what did you mean by your statement?" she asked him again having not undrestood what he meant.

"You are already on his friends list, nothing more you could do would get you on a higher list, unless you relinquish your throne and join up," Kikai said, "Not that that'll ever happen."

"I don't think that I would chose one individual over my country," Shun-o said.

"If you did, he'd probably hate you for it," Kikai said.

"He's a tough person to please, isn't he," she observed.

"I guess, but he does have a way of making everything look alright," he said.

"How was he able to stay the hand of death?" she asked him.

"Ah..that..I can't answer, for I am not too sure myself," he admitted, "He's a master of the mystic arts, while I am a mere adept."

"So that is how he was able to do the things that he has been able to," she said.

"In part, only in part," Kikai said, "He has a few more gifts that I am still unaware of, like where he keeps all of his things."

"So..what happens now?" Shun-o asked.

"We wait for you and the survivors that want to stay to get off, then leave, I think I can call up a sizeable shoku with Orochi's help," Kikai said.

"Alright, then I wont burden you any longer," Shun-o said as she began to leave, but said something before disembarking, "Tell that man thanks for me."

"I'll try to remember," Kikai said.

#

They had made it to just above the capital of Tai where all the ravens had left their carts, as some of the people saw the giant serpent descend from the sky, they moved closer to him, just to see if the medicines had been brought. Which they saw were, they also watched as the ravens brought crate upon crate off of the serpent's back and loaded them on the carts, as some ravens brought out some crates of food and loaded them on the carts as well. They also saw some people that were in rags being brought off of the serpent's back, these people helping the ravens arrange the goods that were steadly being brought down. As more and more of the new comers helped the ravens, some of the locals felt a little shamed in the sense that even though they needed the medicine and other things that the ravens would soon be providing for them, all they did was watch. So slowly some of the watching people participated in the oranization and packing of goods, as well as loading of the goods.

As the common people began to help the ravens do their job, some of he people noticed someone that they had not expected to come and help in the relief effort. The interim ruler of Tai himself was present amongst the packers, and loaders, giving a helping hand himself. He was not loafing around in the palace or some such place, he was with the people actually helping them live better lives. What shocked the people more was the fact there were youma among the group on the giant serpent, they were used to the serpent, but had not gotten used to seeing friendly versions of the things that occassionally attacked their homes helping them as well.

There were some children that had come to see the serpent, some of them were sickly looking, but at the sight of all the goods being loaded up onto the carts they gained a little joy in their lives, until one of them started coughing, it was a little girl that kept coughing, and her mother had to eventually have to go to her and make sure that nothing else was wrong with her, and that she was generally alright.

Upon hearing the coughs, the mother and daughter pair were greeted by the sight of a young woman approaching them, in her arms was a small crate, with her was the kijyuu that everyone knew as Hyakko, who beckoned them, and any other children that were sick to follow him and the girl with him. The pair led the little group of followers to a little temporary clinic that had been set up for their use, while the carts were being loaded up. A few of the women that had returned to Tai had decided that instead of helping with the packing and loading, and unloading, they would help Eiko, who had introduced herself to her patients, in taking care of the children. The crate that Eiko was carrying in her arms was filled with medicines as well as the medicinal water.

The children that were set on their way to recovery explored around the medical tent, and they found Kurai sleeping on a black stretcher. Not thinking that waking him was a good idea, they decided to ask Eiko about him.

"Oh, that's just Master Kurai," she told them when they asked about him, "He's very tired, so don't disturb him, okay?"

"Okay," the children said, and just hung around the medical tent to watch Eiko and the other women go about _curing _the sick.

The children moved away from where they were staying when they noticed Gyoubou enter the tent, who simply smiled at them, then brought his attention to Eiko.

"How is he doing?" the sennin asked referring to Kurai.

"Check on him yourself why don't you, can't you see I'm busy?" Eiko said a little bit irritated.

"Alright, alright, no need to bite my head off," he said placatingly, then walked to where he knew Kurai had been laid to rest, still on the stretcher made out of the transformed ravens. After checking over his friend, he left the tent, thanking Eiko and the other women for their hard work, while the other women blushed at the praise, Eiko threw a dirty rag at him to force him to flee the tent, and return to overseeing the carts leave in an organized fashion. Accompanying each cart were not only a youma, but also some soldiers to make sure that the good reached their destinations. Some of the women were given some new clothes, relatively new compared to what they had been wearing, and they were allowed to travel with the carts, and act as medics as they all had some knowledge when it came to taking care of the ailing.

*

Kurai woke up a few hours after all the excitement had ended, and the medicines and the like had been distributed and such. He sat up on his stretcher, and tried to get off of it, but Eiko had suddenly appeared and forced him to lay back down.

"You've just woken up, now stay in bed, until we actually get you to a bed," she ordered her master.

They were on Orochi who was bringing them back home, which suited Kurai just fine as he had not seen his home in some time. They arrived there a few hours later, for some reason Orochi still got lost, no matter how many times he flew around the country. The ravens brought Kurai off of the serpent's back, then when all had gotten off of the serpent, Orochi shrunk down in size.

Apparently the ravens had decided to renovate the tree house, and added some more furniture, one such piece was an actual bed, which the ravens laid Kurai on.

"Do you lot expect me to stay in bed?" Kurai asked his servants.

"Well...yeah.." one of the ravens answered, then clamed a gloved hand over his mouth as he realized what he had said.

"Fine, fine, I'll rest up for a bit..I'll go look for that other monster next week," Kurai said.

"Good," Eiko said from the door to the room, Kikai waving from his position behind her.

"After the week is up, I'm leaving for Kyou," Kurai informed his servants then rolled over to one side and promptly fell asleep.


	17. Chapter 17

Disclaimer (1): This is a fan written work based on the works of J.K. Rowling. It might possibly also have some elements of a number of other works. There is no money being made from this, it is merely a work meant for the entertainment of myself and the masses. This is merely for fun, and no profit. I repeat: I am not making any money out of writing this.

Disclaimer (2): I also do not own anything that has to do with Juuni Kokki, Juuni Kokuki, Record of the Twelve Kingdoms, The Twelve Kingdoms. The only things that will probably be mine to claim are some of the names that will appear in the fic.

Warning: OCs OOCs Sues, and some crack. You have been warned.

Note 1: Post-DH Disclaimer (2) anime/novel Crossover

Legend: # denotes change of time, while * denotes change of scene/perception/POV/center of attention/small change in time

*****

*****

**CHANGE**

*****

**Chapter Seventeen**

*****

*****

The week of rest ended quicker than Kurai had thought that it would, he'd never really known what rest and relaxation really was all about until Eiko and Kikai had forced him into staying in bed and resting for the week. He also never really knew what it really meant to have servants doing anything and everything that he told them to do until he was forced by two of his servants to stay in bed.

He was used to having them do important things, but things like simply fetching him a book to read, some fruit from the farm land, or simply a glass of water were all new to him. He grew to enjoy having people do such menial things for him, but also knew that as much as he enjoyed it there were more important things in life. He still had a monster to find, as well as two kirin and one King to locate.

Tai was still in need of its King and Kirin, though things weren't going as bad as one would think, Kurai had managed to keep the country more or less striving to survive with a little bit more enthusiasm than ever before.

Gyoubou had a habit of popping into the headquarters of the Karasu Organization. Kurai had decided against leaving Tai after his week of bed rest was over, as he believed that things would happen at their own pace, and what were a few more days compared to eternity to an immortal. His servants were more or less immortal themselves, not quite sennin, but immortal nonetheless.

The interim ruler of Tai would occasionally pester Kurai on state affairs, and appointing officials and ministers, as well as the running of the schools in the country. There were also military matters which the sennin believed would be best handled by Kurai, as the man had a lot of experience with running something close to a country.

The Karasu Organization or Karasu Sousetsu or KS for short, was known all over Tai. It was the backbone of their survival, and many people also knew that Karasu no Kurai was a man searching for the ruler of the country that he had been helping. Some people believed that all they needed was Kurai, and believed that he should be interim ruler or even permanent ruler of their country. But many people knew that he had already refused the position many times, as Gyoubou was sometimes heard complaining that Kurai kept on refusing the position.

The KS were also called on when a human settlement had any kind of youma or bandit problem, they were the ones that dealt with what others could not normally deal with. They were also known as being a group of non-humans, even Kurai was not seen as human, but as something else.

Some people had heard Kikai, Gyoubou, Hyakko, Eiko, Orochi, and other youma, refer to Kurai as Majin, or a majin, so rumor spread that that was what Kurai was. He was an enigma, and anomaly, but one that people respected and did not want to really bother with their petty problems, that was Gyoubou's job.

*

It had been a month since Kurai had been forced by his servants to rest for a week. In the month that followed his recovery, he had overseen the running of his farm, and new mines, as some of the former miners were so used to their job that they knew nothing else. So Kurai decided to give them a job, payment being food, shelter, and clothing. Their job being that which they only knew how to do, mine. Underneath the land that Kurai owned he forced the earth to produce all manner of metal that he could think of, it took a lot of magic to seep into the ground, but he had been able to do it. So aside from fruits, and vegetables, there were now minerals, and precious stones added to the things that Kurai had at his disposal. As for meat, there were plenty of youma that his shirei could hunt for.

Kurai had also managed to purchase some livestock from Ryuu, disguised of course. All of which were settled on a piece of land run by the ravens, from that part of the land Kurai had, he was able to add more meat to the list of things he could send out to the country.

Kurai had thought to expand his relief effort, and see if he could send some things to Kou, which had yet to gain a ruler, but as things were, he still did not have the resources to pursue such an endeavor.

Kurai still planned to go to Kyou, but he still had things needing his attention in his present home turf, like eradicating the bandits that had grown in number, due to the country growing nearly lawless, as well as the abundance of relief carts that kept traveling from place to place, not that their attacks ever ended in success, but it was the chance to do as they pleased that had caused many outlaws to migrate to Tai.

Some of these criminal elements in society migrated to Tai to get a new start, a new life, a second life, they decided that the best place to atone for their sins was in one of the, considered, cursed places in their world. Tai was a hot bed for two polar opposite things: Hope and Despair.

The hope for a brighter future, brought to the country by KS and its leader and master, Kurai. While despair being brought to the country by the lack of their leader.

Some of the people that traveled to Tai had thought that they were free from the grasp of the authorities that pursued them on the main continent, how wrong they were, for as soon as word reached Gyoubou about their presence in his country, he sent word to Kurai about it. The matter was always dealt with, unless the criminal joined up with a band of bandits, as that was still a problem that Kurai had not yet managed to find a solution for.

It were these things, and a number of other things that had kept the man in Tai. Sure it may have only been a month, but that was still a long time.

*

Kurai stayed in his haven for a week more before he decided that it was time for him to leave his land of peace, relaxation, and work behind, and return to the life that he had originally chosen, which was going out to see the world, solving mysteries in the process.

He brought along with him the essentials, but decided to leave a lot more things in his haven, seeing as he had more humanoid servants, subordinates, and workers around. His shirei or youma servants had all been granted the ability to change forms, they were like animagi except they turned into a unique human rather than into another beast form, in a sense they were like hanjyuu, save for the fact that they were still youma.

Kurai mainly brought what he believed were the necessities, like weapons, some food, clothing, and the like, but only enough for him and twenty other people. The rest of his belongings he sealed into sealing scrolls, or dumped into shrunken chests and placed into a single trunk per kind of item. Books, and crafting tools were kept in different parts of the enlarged tree house. Enlarged in such a way that the main tree house was where Kurai lived, and the trees around it had been turned into tree houses as well, all of which were interconnected by rope bridges and swings. Kurai had found the first day of his freedom from his room that the way his home had been transformed was a little sloppy, so he made the main tree and the other trees combine at the roots, and formed an even larger tree, one worthy of being called a fortress, or stronghold. He had all the man made tree houses merge with the tree itself, and so created his tree fortress, which is where the servants, subordinates, and workers stayed in. Beneath the tree was a large hollow space where the youma lived in, as well as kept the harvested things, which had preservation charms, and the like placed in their storage rooms.

While leaving his haven, Kurai had declined Orochi's offer of taking him to Kyou, Hyakko's offer as well. Kurai had decided that he was going to rough it, and simply walked beyond the perimeter. Some of the KS people thought that he would teleport once out of his haven, but he just kept on walking and walking and walking, until he was just a speck on the horizon.

He simply kept on walking and walking and walking, up until the first bandit made his presence known. Kurai had been looking through the library of Alexandria and Beyond that was his mind, and was not paying attention to where he was going, but with the way things had been going for him, he really didn't need to pay attention when he put twenty-seven bandits out of their misery, temporarily, he was after all not in killing mode, but in contemplative mode. He was searching for ideas, and spells, and the like for how he would be making his way to Kyou.

By the time he reached the capital of Tai, he had yet to find a decent or even semi-decent idea to use. He had traveled in the direction of Tai's capital in order to personally inform Gyoubou that he would be leaving the country, as well as request a passport, as he was going on the trip minus the presence of any of his flying servants, and he also didn't want to fly himself.

AS he made his way to the house that he knew Gyoubou stayed in when he was not performing any of his duties, he changed his appearance to his Kasumi guise, and as he arrived at the home, he simply walked through the door, and headed for the library where he knew the sennin would be found.

By the time Kurai reached the library it was evening, early evening, but evening nonetheless.

"Good evening Lord Gyoubou," Kurai greeted as he entered the room.

"Good evening..uhm..who are you?" the sennin greeted and asked as he had never laid his eyes on the woman before him in his life.

"My master had me come and tell you that he will be leaving for Kyou now," Kurai said in his Kasumi voice, which was one of a pro-seductress, he got the idea from a bunch of romance novels and movies that he had read at some point in time.

"Kyou? Your master..?" the sennin questioned, but them realization struck him, "You mean Kurai?"

"Correct," Kurai answered.

"Alright, I guess he didn't want me to try and set up some way for him to travel," the sennin said and laughed a little.

"Correct," Kurai said, "I'll be taking my leave now."

But as Kurai was about to leave the sennin stopped him.

"Wait a moment," the sennin said.

"Yes?" Kurai asked.

"Inform your master that I have received word of reports of missing hanjyuu in the Kingdom of Kou," the sennin informed.

"I'll take my leave now," Kurai said then walked out of the home.

#

Kurai managed to make it to the coast facing the main continent of the world, while on a map the world looked small, in truth it was huge, with many places still left unexplored.

Kurai opted not to take a boat, but instead chose to explore the depths of the sea for a bit. Sure there were fishes, he was sure that he would be seeing some of those, but he believed that there was more to fishes and jyouyou in the depths of the sea. Exploration was one thing that he seemed to enjoy, for why else would he willingly wander the sea floor if he did not enjoy doing something so stupid.

Before he dived into the water he looked back at a memory of his very first time swimming, he'd never had the chance to enjoy the water before his fourth year when he was forced to go on his saving spree. Gillyweed was lacking in the world he was in at present, and so he did the next best thing. He gathered up his magic, some of it but not enough of it to cause tsunamis, and slowly gave himself gills, and added some kind of webbing in between his fingers and toes. He then had his eyes change colors, and glow a little to add a bit of lighting for what he had planned. He believed that underwater would be a little dark, and also knew how fish saw underwater, so not only did he have his eyes glow an eerie killing curse green, while the other one was crimson red, the color of blood freshly spilt, he also made his eyes somewhat similar to that of a fish, or more precisely gave himself the ability to see underwater as if he were on land or in the air. The sclera or white part of his eyes were made to glow, similar to the light of the angler fish, but instead of being for attracting fish, it was meant to illuminate the way for Kurai.

Once that was done, he absorbed his clothes into himself, which left him practically naked, but he also planned on doing something to eliminate that fact. He then forced a part of his back to arch slightly and form a fin, reminiscent of a shark's fin, and smoothed out his body, adding and additional layer over his skin to give him that fishy feel. To blend in more, as he didn't want to stand out too much underwater, he changed the color of his skin, gaining a light green tinge to it, he also brought his more sensitive parts of his outer body inwards somewhat, meaning his privates were hidden from view. Those dangling bits could impede his speed a little.

As he was going into the water, he decided that he would go as a predator, albeit a small one, and not prey. As he dived into the water he altered his teeth, all of them, and allowed himself to follow in the footsteps of the shark and gained rows, upon rows of razor sharp teeth, he also brought out his serpent like ability to unhinge his jaw or simply widen his mouth.

As he swam deeper underwater, Kurai realized that he was not moving as fast as he possibly could, something was still bogging him down. Searching himself he realized that it was his hair, his long mane which was keeping him from moving at the speeds that he should be able to reach. He may have had the ability to change reality to to suit his needs, but he didn't want to do that as it would be unfair to all the rest that were unable to perform such a feat. Instead, he simply altered himself to be able to conform to reality. He made his hair turn pale green, instead of the stark white that it was, he also added a bit of a slippery quality to it, like seaweed, but at the same time each hair could be controlled like an octopus could control its tentacles. But should Kurai need something to defend himself, his hair could grow longer and surround himself turning into lightweight steel or something a lot harder, but at the same time light enough that he wouldn't sink.

*

Kurai had been swimming constantly for days, but he had yet to catch even a glimpse of a single fish, there was nothing in the water save for void, but he knew that there must be some kind of fish in the water, else why would fishermen exist if there weren't. So he kept on swimming hoping to find some, what he didn't know was that he was the reason why fish did not dare be close to him. He was constantly producing killing intent or KI while swimming, his frustration was bringing out his bloodlust, and love for battle.

He had yet to encounter even one of the bigger and badder predators in the water, which also led to him feeling more frustrated, and release more of his killing intent, spreading out through the waters like wildfire. When a fish or any marine animal, youma or regular, sensed or touch water that held the KI it would immediately swim away as if the water was the touch of death itself.

After a number of more days of swimming without encountering anything, Kurai got so frustrated at not finding anything interesting that he let lose some of his magic into the very water that was around him, shifting it, and changing it into something else, or rather many other things. Some of the water particles had merged with the KI as well as the magic and formed living creatures, specifically a variant of an already existing youma.

Hinman youma, which were formless youma with faces and a red jewel on the forehead of its face, these creatures were able to enter a person's body and gain full control the body's movements, while at the same time not having permanent control over the body, it also had the ability to change the physical appearance and even gender of the body that it had entered. For Kaiyaku, which are people brought to Juuni Kokuki or the world of the Twelve Kingdoms from Hourai, or other places via a shoku or storm. Normally people from outside the world of the twelve kingdoms are unable to initially speak the language, but can learn, with a hinman present in the body the language is instantly accessibly and understandable. Another kind of person from outside of the twelve kingdoms is a taika, which is a person who was slated to be born in the present world but his or her ranka, which is where people of the twelve kingdoms come from, was swept away by a shoku and deposited in Hourai, where the children are born from the womb of women and not large seeds or fruit.

What made the hinman that were created by Kurai different was that they had the power, like the others serving under Kurai, to transform into humans. One other thing that differentiated them from regular hinman was that they were all the color of blood, the jewel on their foreheads were emeralds, actual emeralds. These emeralds were where the power of these hinman were stored, and were protected by the hinman, nothing would be able to separate a hinman from its jewel other than death. Kurai decided to name his semi-creations Hedoro, meaning slime or chemical ooze.

As they were his creations, he did not need to go through the motions of taming them, as they were already his servants, in a similar way to the ravens, they were in a way part of him. These red slime monsters were able to merge with the body of water they were in, and Kurai had them direct him to where there were fish. When they found him some fish, he ordered them to make sure that the fish did not leave, which the fish were not likely to do as Kurai's bloodlust had already left him, and the surrounding waters, all that was left were the hedoro.

He swiftly swam in the direction of the fish, and also realized that he was hungry, after days of not eating, his hunger finally caught up to him. It was time to eat fish.

*

If one were to look from above the surface of the water, one would see a ring of red beneath the surface of the waves, the hedoro had formed a solid circular wall around a multitude of fish of different shapes, sizes, and species. A fisherman would think that it was his lucky day, but a few minutes later would believe that he was somewhat doomed.

Below the waves, Kurai admired the fish, but after some time decided that it was feeding time. Instead of spearing the fish, he decided to try something a little bit new. He opened his mouth wide, as wide as he could, and inhaled, or rather sucked the water and everything else into his mouth, the water leaving through his lungs, while all solid matter got sucked down into his gut and instantly vaporized and turned into energy and a little bit or magic. While Kurai was sucking things up, and letting things out through his gills, the water around him shifted. Had someone been above them, that someone would be caught up in a raging whirlpool, one strong enough to such in ten ship like it was nothing. Even a jyouyou would have a hard time escaping its grip.

Once he was done eating, he noticed the whirlpool that he created, and decided to play a little with his magic. From his palms and the soles of his feet he let out some magic, the magic allowing him to control the currents of the water. He decided, once the water changed from whirling to chaotic to calm, and remained in the calm, to use that control, he had also forgotten that he could control the element of water, to move faster in the water.

He proceeded to swim even deeper underwater, the hedoro following him, there were close to a hundred of the things, multiplying and merging at a moment's notice, though when they merged they grew slightly in size. By swimming deeper into the depths of the sea, he had managed to encountered some more creatures, but had yet to see the bottom of the sea. He had passed by a few whales, sharks, and three jyouyou that didn't pay the group any mind.

It took several weeks before Kurai saw the sea floor, so he sped up his descent, and landed on the sea floor. He looked around and did not find anything worth looking at, there weren't any corals, there was nothing but rotting things, like bodies of youma that had died, regular animals, and wrecks, and a lot of other things. Swimming just above the sea floor, Kurai and his hedoro searched for something worth taking, but found nothing.

After a few more weeks of being a bottom feeder, Kurai arrived at an underwater cliff, looking over the edge, he saw void, darkness, it was even darker than the waters that he was presently in. After looking into the void, he realized that he was once again hungry, it was once again time to eat. He also realized that he would need to consume a lot more food if he was to survive swimming even deeper into the depths of the deep blue, which looked more like deep black than anything else.

He had his hedoro search for something for him to eat, those bloody slime did not need to eat, just like the ravens they fed off of Kurai's magic. It took the slimes only a few hours, but they found Kurai something to eat, the something being two jyouyou, twice the size of Orochi's maximum size. The two things were battling, which would serve as a distraction while Kurai did his thing.

He knew that they were too big to eat whole, so he decided to use the water itself to help him cut the two youma up. He spread out his arms, and spread his legs a bit, from his palms and the soles of his feet tiny whirlpools began to form, ones that gradually grew in strength but not in size.

Along with the tiny whirlpools that were formed and grew stronger, Kurai forced that currents around him to swirl, forcing the waters to churn and move against itself. The sudden change in the water did not attract the attention of the battling behemoths, which was a good thing, if they had noticed what was going on around them, they would have attempted to flee.

But alas they did not, and soon the water was joined with a heavily controlled burst of electricity. Kurai forced the water to form blades, and added some electricity to the blades, after which he made the rest of the water in the area whirl around the two battling giant serpents, and had the currents turn the sea into a giant blender.

Once the slicing and slashing, and paralyzing due to the electricity, finally caught the attention of the two battling beasts, but it was too late for they were caught up in the whirlpool that Kurai had formed, one that was tearing and ripping them apart. While that was happening, Kurai began his sucking motion, and began inhaling the water, dragging the cut off pieces along with the water into his gut, the water escaping from his gills.

*

From high above the sea there were some soldiers from the Kingdom of Kei riding kijyuu, as they looked down, they witnessed the formation of a massive whirlpool, as well as the sudden appearance of two battling jyouyou breaking the surface, bleeding heavily causing the water to turn red with their blood.

The soldiers could also see that the water from the whirlpool could occassionally shoot up and stab the serpents, gouging out a piece of the thing. One of them had a telescope with him, and so he looked through it to get a better look at what was happening within the whirlpool. Only the heads and a little bit of the rest of the monsters were sticking out of the water. The soldier could see, and related to his fellows, that the monsters seemed to be struggling to get away from the whirlpool, and were obviously not succeeding.

The soldiers were aware of how long a jyouyou could be, and that there was the possibility of them growing even longer than they were known to grow. Judging by the size of the heads of the two below them, the soldiers could tell that what they were witnessing was the death of two of the largest ever sighted. There was something below the waves that was causing the things to struggly free from something that they would normally be able to free themselves from.

Then one of the soldiers noticed something around the whirlpool, there was a ring of red, one that was not caused by the blood, as it formed a perfect circle. The soldier in question pointed it out to the rest of the platoon, and they found it definitely odd. But then they saw the ring break apart into little pieces, pieces which moved in the direction of the whirlpool.

Soon the whirling mass of water churned even more violently than before, spinning wildly, which caused the two creatures trapped in it to get cut into pieces faster than before. To the soldiers, the thought of whatever it was that was causing such a phenomenon to occur actually doing what it was doing was frightening. The prospect of a ship encountering such a beast was highly frightening and extremely intimidating. Encountering a jyouyou was one thing, as people were known to survive that, but encountering whatever it was that was shredding the two jyouyou was something else entirely.

The soldiers, although fearful of the sight, could not look away, could not leave, they had a duty to report something like this, they would do their duty to the fullest of their ability, even though it meant watching such a spectacle occur right before their very eyes. There was an unknown threat to the people sailing on the high seas, as well as whatever those red things in the water were. The soldiers would see the bloody thing to the very end.

Within the span of four hours the whole affair ended, the sea was calm once more. But the soldiers could distinctly recall seeing something at the epicenter of the whirling mass of water. It was humanoid in a way, and they could swear that it had looked directly up at them right before the waters closed up around it. The soldiers wondered how something so small, and insignificant looking could cause such a calamity to occur, as well as how such a small creature was able to cause a platoon of hardened soldiers to fear the deep blue sea so much more than they already were.

As the soldiers left, they realized that there was not a drop of blood remaining in the water. The water was simply its neutral color, there was no evidence that a slaughter had occurred. The other red things in the water had also appeared to have vanished along with the whirlpool, and all the evidence of something having happened there.

There was a lot to report, and they hoped that the news would not cause too much of a panic, since the sighting had happened close to the Kingdom of Kei itself, a country whose peace and prosperity was unquestionable.

#

Two weeks after finishing off his last meal, Kurai had bumped into the bottom of the deep blue sea, or what he hoped to be the very bottom. He searched around the sea floor for anything of interest, and even had the hedoro do some searching for him as well.

Their combined efforts managed to find nothing, nothing save for a cave, an actual under water cave. As Kurai approached it, he reached out with his magic, to see if he could sense any possible dangers lurking within. None were detected, or so he hoped, so before setting off into the cave, he sent in some of the hedoro to do some scouting for him.

After waiting for two hours, his minions returned and reported that there was a cavern at the end of a really long tunnel, and it was not like any cavern that they had expected to find, for there was light, or so they told him.

Armed with the information that there was something of interest to find, as well as the lack of anything dangerous, Kurai and the rest of the hedoro swam into the cave, followed its twisting and turning tunnels, and eventually leapt out of the water in a spectacular fashion, landing on dry land.

The sudden lack of water forced Kurai to revert back into his human form, lest he learn how a fish feels out of water. But instead of putting on his regular outfit, he simply chose black shorts, and sandals.

'_Orochi,_' he mentally called one of his servants.

'_Master?_' the serpent replied.

'_Sense where I am, find me, and hover above the clouds over my location,_' Kurai instructed wanting to know where he was in the world.

It took a few hours for Orochi to get wherever he sensed Kurai to be, and it didn't come as a shock when he mentally informed his master that he was in Kei.

'_You may return to whatever it was that you were doing,_' Kurai said.

'_Kikai and Eiko asked me to tell you that we are short on lighting materials for some reason,_' Orochi informed Kurai.

'_I see, well tell them I may have a solution to that problem,_' Kurai said as he looked around for the source of the light, '_Be off with you then, I shall call again when I have need of you._'

*

It took several hours for Kurai and his hedoro to find the source of that which lit the cavern, and her tunnels. The source were pairs of crystals that lined the upper part of the walls on all sides of the cavern, none of them hanging or clinging to the ceiling. There were hundreds of pairs lining the upper part of the walls, all in pairs, and all had a kind of indentation a feet feet right below them. They resembled eyes, and the indentation resembled a mouth. It was the only pattern that Kurai noticed, as none of the indentations were the same in anyway. It was as if they were faces carved in stone by some supernatural force, and were placed there to watch over any traveler that managed to somehow find his or her way into the cavern.

He had his ervants shift into their human forms and then had them scale the walls to try and retrieve the crystals, as they could prove useful as light sources for his home. As luck would have it, whenever his people needed something he was either near somewhere to get it, or was where whatever it could be found. His luck was incredible, but as there was always a balance, he knew that he would be meeting with something bad eventually, usually something bad for his health. It was the way things were, when his luck struck, something was bound to happen, both good and bad. Though if he were the cause of something good or bad to happen, then their counterpart would not have to happen.

As his servants scaled the walls, Kurai walked deeper into the cavern, following a few of the smaller twisting tunnels while marvelling at the natural underground wonder of the world. It was a wonder theat the walls may have looked to be rough, but for some reason, when he touched it, the surface felt really smooth, it was as if it had been spelled in such a way that it looked rough but was as smooth as silk.

What Kurai was not aware of was that the his shadow could be found in one direction. The lights were supposedly looking down, lighting the path, and the caverns in which he was in. But had Kurai bothered to look at his shadow, he would have noticed that it was as if the light was focused on him, as if the eye-like crystals were staring down at him.

Kurai felt as if there was something watching him, as if waiting for the best chance to pounce, and do naughty things to him, leaving him begging and wanting more. But he paid the feeling no mind, should something come of it, he would deal with whatever it was when something did something. He had other priorities, like finding a way out of the cavern as well as figuring out if there was anything else aside from the crystals that were interesting in the cavern and tunnels.

Walking for a few more minutes, and after finding apparently no way out, no visible way out, Kurai decided that he would take a break, and reach out with his magic, and sense if there were any hidden passages around in the place, and if there were he would try and see if he could manipulate the protections around them and reveal them to him. As luck would have it, there were no such things. The whole place was sealed from the outside world, save for the underground lake that he and his servants had leapt out of.

He had expected to find something more than simply crystals and walls, but that was all that he had found, that and water. There was absolutely nothing else. He knew that in some caves there were at least some forms of life, like moss, or some other kind of simple organism, but in the place that he was in, the only life that he could find, were the hedoro and himself. There was nothing else. But one thing that he did find intriguing was that the walls were coated in something, some kind of energy, it felt like magic, but at the very same time not.

He then decided to prod the energy and see what would happen, he was curious to know how the walls' coating of energy would react to an intrusion by magic.

But before he could try anything he received a distress call from some of the hedoro.

'_Master! The WALLS! They're...Ahh!_' the hedoro called out to him mentally.

'_What about the walls?_' Kurai responded, wanting to know what had happened to the walls where he had left his servatns, '_What happened to the walls?_'

Receiving no response, he decided to rush back to his servants and personally assess the situation, while at the same time deciding to perform his experiment after things had calmed down a little bit.

After running for a few minutes, Kurai remembered that he was a wizard, one that knew how to apparate, also known as teleport, as well as that he had copied Nightcrawler's Bamf-ing teleportation ability. So picking one method, he chose the silent bamf-ing teleportation, and teleported to the tunnel mouth closest to his servant's locations. Arriving there he noticed what was wrong immediately, not needing to ask what was wrong.

His hedoro servants were busy fighting with the walls themselves.

"What happened here?" Kurai demanded one of the closest servants to answer, as he helped it push back the attacking wall.

"S-sir! As we touched one of the crystals, the walls simply came to life and began attacking us one by one," the red slime answered while in human form, "Then they began moving and dusting us off like pest, and have been trying to do weird things to us!"

From what Kurai observed of the happenings so far, the crystals were indeed eyes, and the indentations were indeed mouths. But why would they move only when their eyes were touched, why not when they were being scaled. Deciding that the survival of his servants was more important than figuring out why the walls had decided to move and act against his servants, Kurai brought out a pair of wands, they were simply wands minus any kind of core. One was made out of black marble, while the other one was made of white marble, instead of cores the two wands had focii, the black one had an emerald, while the whilte one had a ruby.

With both wands in hand, Kurai forced his magic through the marble constructs and foci, which then blasted out in many colored streaks of light, each one slamming into one of the segments of the moving walls. He whipped out blasting hex after blasting hex, effectively chipping off small pieces off of the walls, stopping some from moving, while not even really affecting the others all that much. The walls were definitely protecting more than their eyes, as when Kurai managed to hit one of the crystals, the wall just kept on attacking the hedoro, and some of the segments closest to him tried to hit him. Kurai also noticed that the part of the walls that joined all of the segments together were harder than the rest of the walls, than the segments, as if the walls that he and his servants were battling were simply an outer wall. They were protecting something held beyond or right behind them, whatever it was Kurai was going to find out.

Kurai then started pushing more magic into his spells, firing out a constant stream of blasting hexes at the spaces between the walls. The hedoro noticing what their master was doing doubled their efforts at evading the walls, while at the same time distracting them from noticing their master and what he was doing.

The hedoros' bodies were like those of their natural slime forms, extremely flexible, which was what allowed them to dodge out of the way of the incoming attacks made by the walls, the walls having more than just eyes, ears, and a mouth, they had arms. Arms which tried to slam down onto the hedoros moving around on the floor, and occasionally climbing on the walls.

When the blasting hexes, even overpowered ones, did not seem to work all that well only being able to carve out little holes into the joining segments of the walls, Kurai decided that it was time to resort to drastic measures.

From out of his scar and eyes, blood began to flow, he also started to sport a nosebleed, and blood also escaped out of his mouth, and his ears suffered the same fate. As the blood flowed down his face, down his neck, and across his body ending up pooling around him on the floor. He gathered up all his bloodlust, his love for battle, as well as his newfound interest in death, he was Master of Death after all, gathering the hallows can do that to a person, but his mastery over the thing extended to only a few things, he was no god of death simply a master of it. His aura exploded around him and became visible, but the colors were not the myriad that one would expect to see from any wizard, Kurai's aura was a mixture of all shades of green, from the lightest of greens, to the darkest and foulest by the looks of it. The explosion of Kurai's aura caught the attention of all of the collective walls, even the hedoro were forced to stare at the blazing aura that surrounded their master.

Kurai burned like fire, his aura taking on the shape of a flame, a green flame, one that none dared to touch. The walls knew that they needed to somehow dispose of Kurai before he completed his plan of action, else, as they suspected, there would be no more sentience in them left to continue their duty to guard whatever it was that they were guarding.

Kurai's eyes were blazing just as much as his aura was, they had both changed into what looked like two orbs of pure emerald fire. The blood that had pooled at his feet and that had moved down his body had not simply vanished but had become fuel to the raging inferno that surrounded his very being.

It was when Kurai raised only one of his arms, in his hand he stretched out and pointed at one of the slabs that made up a wall segment, when all around him felt a chill run up and down their spines, causing tremors of chilling coldness to fill their souls. After five words quickly escaped his mouth, multiple beams of light escaped from the wand tips. Each beam swiftly mutated into the shape of a man, one that resembled a skeleton more than anything else, and each one zoomed and made its way to a wall segment, there were twenty five in all.

Every single one of them impacted with a wall segment at the exact same time. All was still once they did, and all wondered what they were meant to do. The answer to such a question came a second after all those that wondered wondered. The twenty five segments crumbled to the ground, leaving in their place a smooth wall behind each, the other segments and the hedoro thought that that was it. But they were all mistaken.

"Orior oriri ortus ut vita quod servo pro totus infinitio!" Kurai said aloud.

Upon hearing the words, the magic responded, as if simply waiting for such a command to bring the magic to life. The rubble from the wall segments had been infused with sentience of a sort, but Kurai's magic merged with that which had already been there, releasing the magic from the restraints and control of their original creator, and binding the magic completely to Kurai. Green flames, but with a hint of winter, burst forth from the rubble in the form of men, six feet in height. But since they looked so vulnerable simply being flames, they needed some form of protection, so the magic, Kurai's magic, merged with the rubble, and forced the rock pieces to form a sort of armor around the humanoid figure bathed in green flames. They were like magma golems, but instead of yellow, orange, and white hot flames, there was living green fire.

When the shock wore off, the battle began anew, with the golems joining the fray taking the side of the hedoro. These golems infused with the burning power of the green flame, which was simply fire born out of an over powered Killing Curse or twenty five, were more than a match for the wall segments. The walls were laid bare in a matter of minutes, not a single one of the original outer layer of living rocks remained, they had all been crushed to dust, and lay still on the cavern floor, yet their crystal eyes that glowed with an unnatural blue light continued to glow.

When all was still, a great cheer rose up from the hedoro and golem forces, Kurai was the only one that remained silent. He simply summoned to himself all the crystals, and stored them into himself, the golems providing enough light for them now that the danger had already passed.

Recalling that he could control fire, Kurai brought forth another miniature sun to light up the rest of the cavern, lighting up some of the places that the golems were unable to light up in the section of the cavern that they were in.

Kurai had the hedoro examine the walls, while he reached out with his magic and performed mass detection spells, he was searching for anything that was out of place, more so than the overly smooth walls that remained. He found yet another coating of energy, but this time a far stronger and potent one, whatever it could do Kurai wanted to know, but at the same time was wary. His aura remained in its death-state sa he wished to be prepared for any and all eventualities.

After an hour of finding nothing out of place, nothing that seemed to have a more powerful coat of energy, Kurai decided that perhaps it was time to return to the underground lake, and see what could be found there.

When he reentered the area in which the lake could be found, Kirai realized that there was not a trace of any crystal having been there to light up the place. The light from the crystal seemed to be powerful enough to illuminate the whole place, as apparently he had stored all the crystals into himself. He realized that the crystals weren't found all over the place, but that some of the wall segments had somehow managed to follow him, while keeping up the illusion that all the walls were sentient.

With the lake cavern black as pitch, Kurai let his mini sun float up to the ceiling, and had it illuminate the lake cavern.

"Search the area, whatever it was that they were hiding, its sure to be here," Kurai ordered his group of servants.

He had half of the hedoro to slip into the water and search the tunnel that lead from the open sea to the cavern, while the other half he had search the walls. The walls in this cavern was not smooth like the rest of the place, but was rough as real rocks. He had the golems search the walls as well, but had one of them walk into the water just to see if they would be able to survive in water being flame constructs. The one that Kurai had ordered to wade in the water proved that they could survive in water, it was just that the water was not able to survive with one of them in it. It didn't evaporate or anything like that, but it looked, felt, and even tasted dead, as well as colder than a blizzard in winter, but still liquid.

After the revelation that his golems could survive underwater, he made a mental note to keep them away from the water supply at home, he didn't want to kill of his people, as well as the people of Tai that relied on him to survive. But once the golem left the water, it seemed to go back to being somewhat more normal, the death feeling left the water once the golem left.

Once the hedoro and golems got to work, Kurai took out an inflatable bed and placed it on the surface of the lake, and lay on top of it, in black swimming shorts, and shades covering his eyes. He simply relaxed while his servants did all the work. A few waves were caused by the golems throwing some rocks and boulders into the water to get them out of the way of the search of the cavern for anything out of the ordinary.

*

It took his servants a few hours of nonstop searching for them to come up and find nothing, absolutely nothing. Whatever had been hidden was either hidden very well, or was no longer there. But instead of immediately waking up Kurai, who had fallen asleep, they had collectively decided to look through the rest of the place once again. Leaving only two of each of their kinds to guard their master.

As they wandered around the tunnels feeling the walls for anything unusual, some of the golems in frustration punched the real walls of the tunnels, it came as quite a surprise that the thing was quite brittle, it caved in quite easily. Hidden beyond the wall were dozens upon dozens of what looked like statues of soldiers. Since the hedoro and golems were made partly out of Kurai's magic, they had some of his memories, pertaining not to his life, but enough for them to recognize things, stuff that made their sentience more compatible with being servants. The golems were the first ones to realize what the statues would have reminded Kurai of, they were like the terracotta army of one of the emperors of China. But there were simply dozens, and not hundreds or thousands.

Not knowing how to proceed, one of the hedoro decided that it was probably the right time to wake up their master. Which was what they did.

They led their master to the hole in the wall, and showed him what they had found. He literally felt a jolt of some sort race through his system. He stood paralyzed staring at the dozens of statues that littered the hidden chamber. All the while wondering what they were for, and why underneath the Kingdom of Kei of all places. He would have understood if they were found underneath Koukai, but Kei was something else altogether. Koukai being the center of the Twelve Kingdoms.

Instead of stepping forward, Kurai reached out with his magic to see if he wasn't simply seeing an illusion. His magic raced through the chamber, and he found out that not only were they real, but they were also the source of the energy that coated the walls of the entire underground place that he was presently in. Why they were there, and what they were supposedly guarding, Kurai did not know, but he resolved to find out.

He ordered his golems to proceed with locating other chambers such as this one that they had accidentally found.

While his minions were off in search of other things, Kurai decided to study the statues, as well as how the energy flowed. He got the feeling like he should know what the energy was, as if he had encountered the energy sometime in his past.

'_Master Crius, are you there?_' Kurai mentally reached out in an attempt to contact one of the voices.

'_Yes, is there something you need Kurai?_' Crius answered.

'_There is an unknown energy in the place I am presently in, I know I've felt it somewhere before, but I can't recall where,_' Kurai said.

'_I want you to get in contact with the source of the energy, or whatever it is that is channelling the energy of which you speak of,_' Crius said, his hands reaching across space and time to merge temporarily with his student's, '_I'm going to try and identify what it is through your touch._'

Kurai reached out and touched one of the statues, this one of a general among the soldiers, once his flesh made contact with the statue he had to literally jump back to avoid being cut in two.

'_Master! What is happening!?_' Kurai frantically asked as he continued to dodge the sword strikes of the general, that had suddenly come to life, its features slowly becoming more like that of a living person.

'_You watched Full Metal Alchemist right? I'm sure you did, well, those statues are something like those humanoid creations without a soul from that anime! Wait til its fully human to destroy it or figure out its purpose_,' Crius answered back.

'_But what the hell is powering it?_' Kurai asked as he dodged another strike aimed at his mid section.

'_Power!_' was Crius simple reply, as if it was the answer to all of Kurai's questions.

'_Its not Tentei's doing is it?_' Kurai asked as he attempted to trip the living statue.

'_Hard to say, something is blocking my perception,_' Crius admitted, which he personally found odd, as only another higher power could block out one such as he, '_Its not Tentei, I'm positive of that, it has the feel of mortality and immortality mixed into it, but I can't really be sure._'

'_You think I could AK the thing? Or Legilimens it?_' Kurai asked his teacher.

'_Not until its flesh and bones! And before you ask, that's exactly what is happening to it!_' Crius said right before Kurai would have attempted to enter something that did not have a mind.

Kurai kept on dodging the statue, and eventually he saw that it looked like it was becoming or growing tired. He also noticed that the statue was flesh and bones, by the appearance of sweat on its brow. Thinking that it was somewhat safe, Kurai approached the statue now man.

"Uhm.." was all that was able to escape Kurai's lips before he had to begin dodging anew, this time he had to dodge the attacks of the whole mini army of statue soldiers that were slowly turning human.

'_Master Crius!_' Kurai called out.

'_I know! I know! They must be protecting something, and since they're like the terracotta army, it must be an emperor or a king or something like that! Have your minions find it!_' Crius said the first things that popped into his immortal and godly brain.

Noticing that the chamber had somehow sealed up, with him inside it dodging for his life, and generally making sure not to get his by any of the sharp pointy things that were making their way to him, Kurai had no choice but to retaliate, or at least attempt to retaliate. These things were powered by the Power of a higher power, one that could block out Tentei, and that was a bad thing.

'_Find the tomb of a king or queen, or simply just a tomb in this place!_' Kurai metally ordered his servants running around the place searching for another chamber which possibly held soldiers, or something like them, '_A casket, coffin, jar with bones, doesn't matter so long as its something that keeps a dead person in it!_'

'_Kurai! Change of plans, don't kill any of them, don't destroy a single one!_' Crius suddenly said out of nowhere.

'_I'll see what I can do, since all I can do is dodge, I don't think I'd have been able to kill even one of them!_' Kurai shouted mentally back.

It was a good thing that some of the golems decided that leaving their master in a chamber full of soldiers was a bad idea, so they quickly made their way back to where they sensed their master to be. Finding the wall sealed up, they smashed their way through.

With the arrival of the golems, Kurai dodged his way out of the chamber and ordered his golems to follow him. At the exact moment that the golems had broken through the wall, some of the hedoro, ones that were searching the lakeside for what he had them search for, had contacted him telling him that they found something odd about the lake itself, as if there was something floating above it as the light from the mini sun seemed to distort at a certain point in the air.

Reaching the lake, Kurai jumped into the air, sprouted his black wings, and forced his Death Aura to exploe around him, he had switched it off before falling asleep on the lake's surface.

The sudden explosion of magic, had made the presence of something hidden known to all that were there. The soldiers that had chased Kurai from the chamber, and a few other people, formerly statues, had run to the lakeside as well. But they all stopped when they felt the wave of death that had washed over them and spread throughout the place. Many of them had looks of horror, others with fear, and others more had looks of both emotions displayed on their faces.

Not bothering with those former statues, Kurai plunged himself into the distorted space. On the otherside of the illusion, was none other than a stone table or bed, and on it was a King, and from what Kurai could recall, it was none of other than the missing Tai-o, Saku Gyousou. He seemed to be in a death like sleep, similar to Sleeping Beauty or Snow White.

Kurai folded his wings, and searched around the big floating pedestal that held the sleeping and rightful ruler of Tai for clues as to how he had gotten into the state in which he was in. While he looked around, some bit of information was shoved into his head by Crius who was still present. The information was about Tai, a year or two before he arrived in the land, it was about how the land was in perpetual civil war, but only stopped due to the constant famine, and other such strife. There was a possibility that the provincial lords of Tai would renew their petty wars, should Kurai continue to simply do his thing in the land of Tai.

'_Think Potions...that's all I'm going to tell you, I'm leaving now, so good luck,_' Crius said in place of good bye, for good bye is forever, and he was sure to hear from his one-year student again.

With that little hint, Kurai knew everything that he needed to know, his only question was how did whoever do what he or she did, know how to make the Draught of Living Death. It was something that was quite puzzling, but at the same time unimportant.

Kurai found the remains of the potion at his feet, he wouldn't have noticed it had Crius not given him that one clue. Reaching down to touch it, Kurai managed to confirm his suspicions, and the potion used was indeed the Draught of Living Death.

There were three ways to go about waking a person in such a sleep. The first being the classic kiss on the lips, which Kurai did not want to do, ever. The second being forcing the victim into drinking the antidote. The third being using quite a lot of death magic. Good thing that when it came to magic, Kurai was Master of Death.

Kurai silently and slowly placed both of his hands above the sleeping ruler's eyes, and sent out some of his magic, just enough to assess the situation, and tell him just how much of his magic would be needed to awaken the Virtuous King. Try as he might, something was rejecting his magic, his manipulation of the Tai-o. Pushing more magic into what he was doing resulted in him being flung to the illusion barrier by some power, whose was made obvious when the owner appeared before him.

"What do you think you were trying to do?" Tentei asked in all in godly glory as he appeared between Tai-o and Kurai.

"I found your missing Tai-o, and was trying to wake him up, but you intervened for some reason," Kurai stated, not expecting that he would meet the God of the Twelve Kingdoms miles below sea level, the opposite of the first time that he had encountered the god.

"WHAT?!" Tentei shouted, then spun around to face the stone slab on which the ruler slept, all those outside of the illusionary barrier had heard the shout, and many wondered what it was about.

*

"I have a question," one of the hedoro near the former statue people said.

"What is it?" one of the soldiers absentmindedly reponded.

"Are you real people or something else?" the hedoro asked.

"We're real people," the soldier answered.

"Then why were you statues before, and why are you down here and not in Tai?" the hedoro asked.

"We were each visited by a man with white hair, who promised us a better life if we followed him," the soldier said, "He resembled one of those monks or priest that I sometimes saw, and believed him to be some kind of prophet."

"So he turned you into statues?" the hedoro asked.

"Yes, he said it was to preserve us in preparation for his brighter future, and that Tai-o was to be the ruler of the new world," the soldier absentmindedly explained to the hedoro.

"What was his name, this prophet?" the hedoro asked.

"He never told us his name, only that he would create a world, where people wouldn't suffer, and where Tentei wouldn't be able to send those natural disasters and youma to make us suffer," the soldier said.

From the information that the hedoro, still in human form, had gained he could tell that whomever had visited the people was someone that was immortal, possibly a sennin, or even a god himself, one that was dissatisfied with the way that Tentei ran things. Whoever it was was also responsible for the Tai-o and Taiki to go missing, and in Taiki's case the loss of the kirin's power. Once the hedoro had completed its thesis on the predicament of the people from Tai around it, it sent the information to Kurai mentally, adding the speculation that it was possibly either Koutei, or the embodiment of the poeples hidden dislike for the way things have been done, and a bunch of other things.

*

Kurai relayed the information to Tentei as he received it, wondering at the same as to how much exactly had he influenced his semi-creations, in terms of their sentience.

"I can't go around accusing just about any of the gods serving under me," Tentei said after all the information had been relayed.

"Then leave it to me," Kurai said, "You seem to have been leaving things in my hands as of late."

"Fine, but you better make sure that no one usurps me," Tentei said with finality, "But also, could you find Taiki, Gyousou wouldn't be a proper, or even accepted ruler if his Saiho was missing from his side."

"I'll see what I can do, can you not sense his presence?" Kurai asked.

"Just parts, but they are almost always on the move, like the piece of kirin power that you have stored in yourself," Tentei said.

"Ah, you mean the semingly limitless power that was fused with Eiko," Kurai said.

"Precisely," Tentei said, "Then there's the power of transformation that that one that got away has in him."

"I'm to figure out the rest aren't I," Kurai said.

"Whover is responsible has got both power and youma on his side," Tentei said.

"I would have to agree with you there, possibly also holds the location of Taiki, if not, I'm going to have to visit modern day Hourai," Kurai said.

Tentei, instead of saying anything further, proceeded to walk around the floating pedestal, searching for clues as to the indentity of the perpetrator.

"If it is indeed a god, what would you have me do?" Kurai asked.

"I thought you cared not for what I say?" Tentei said from the floor on the other side of the ruler of Tai.

"Your servants, your rules," Kurai simply answered.

"Dispose of him, be it death god or otherwise, I've felt your power, and know first hand what you are capable of," Tentei said.

After a few minutes of comfortable silence, Kurai decided that the silence was getting boring, and his hedoro were getting a little bit bored waiting for something to happen. The soldiers and other former statues were growing restless.

"Find anything?" Kurai asked from his squatting position on the floor, the same place where he landed when Tentei pushed him away from the ruler of Tai.

"Yes..I found out that it would be pointless for you to try and over power the spell placed on the sleeping king," Tentei said.

"Seriously?" Kurai asked.

"Yes, seriously, even with your elevated station as Master of Death, you do not have enough power to overpower the spell placed on the sleeping king," Tentei said, "The potion, sure, but the spell..not even I have the power to do such a thing."

"It's laden with requirements isn't it, its one of those things that need certain things, specific things in order for it to either be altered or removed, huh," Kurai said observationally and guessingly.

"Actually...that's exactly what was done..." Tentei admitted.

"What's the key then?" Kurai asked, dreading the answer.

"Taiki, not exactly true love's kiss, but that's kind of it...Taiki is no kid anymore..." Tentei said, a bit disturbed at what he had uncovered.

"I'll...yeah...find Taiki is now one of my priorities now.." Kurai said.

"Well, I guess I'll take my leave now..good luck on your quest, O' Shin no Tatsujin," Tentei said before preparing to depart from the underground place.

"Hey before you go, I've got a question," Kurai said stopping the god of Juuni Kokki.

"What is it? You do know that I'm a very busy god right," Tentei said without turning to face Kurai.

"Do you know where my Hourin is?" Kurai asked wanting to know the whereabouts of his own kirin.

"Ah...about that...I..don't know..gomen.." Tentei said apologetically, "She has somehow vanished from my sights, just as Taiki has...and Gyousou had."

"I understand...you know, maybe I'll go visit Hou after I visit Kyou," Kurai said.

"He's still there, the one with part of Taiki's power I mean," Tentei informed the uncrowned King of Hou, then left, vanishing in a flash of bright light which could be seen by the people and Kurai's servants outside of the illusioned pedestal.

When the god had left, Kurai spread his wings and flew out of the illusion, then informed the people that were there what had happened, and gave them the choice of waiting in statue form, or returning to Tai. Most chose to return to being statues, bu there were a few that chose to follow Kurai, they being mostly soldiers, that realized that they still had a duty to Tai.

Once all of those that wished to stay with their king were back in place, Kurai contacted Crius.

'_Master Crius, could you reapply the enchantments?_' Kurai asked his teacher mentally.

"Secundus astrum ut vox quod rectus in insquequo oriens!" Crius called out using Kurai's body as a medium for his awesome power.

When all that had been undone, had been returned to what they once were, Kurai ordered his servants to make their way to the surface, and then make camp on the coast of Kei. He then slowly began his transformation from human, to his aquatic form, a feat which frightened the soldiers.

"Get in the water, and do not panic, no matter what you see me do," Kurai told the soldiers once he was in aquatic form, minus the problem of breathing in air, then he plunged into the water and completed his transformation.

The soldiers followed suit, and tried to not have panic attacks, when Kurai sent jets of light their way, the result was the visible effect of the bubble head charm, a bubble covered the soldier's heads, and allowed them to breath under water. The next thing hat Kurai did was wrap each soldier with several strands of his hair. Once all of the soldiers were in the tight grip of his hair, Kurai swam, dragging the soldiers along with him.

*

The same platoon of Kei soldiers were on another patrol over the water of the sea that was still within the territory of Kei. Every now and then they would scan the sea's surface for the possibly appearance of he phenomenon that they had witnessed a while back. So far they had seen nothing.

Since they didn't think that the such a thng would happen on their watch a second time, they were all surprised when a whirling vortex of water suddenly made its presence known. The difference was that this time, there were undred of dead fish appearing around the swirling vortex, all of which were pulled under the waves, that and there were eight giant serpent heads sticking out of the whirlpool of death. Around the whirlpool was the same ring of red youma, but accompanying them were humanoid creatures.

One soldier decided to take a closer look by bringing out his telescope. Looking through it he saw that he humanoid creatures were some kind of new youma made out of rock, with what appeared to be green light or fire held within the stone.

But what really came as a shock to the soldier was that, after the massacre had ended, the whirlpool did not stop whirling, it appeared to grow even stronger. The ring of red creatures had not left their places, as if waiting for something else to occur.

After a few minutes of the whirlpool growing in strength, the people started to shoot out of the middle of it. The soldier with the telescope immediately informed his surperior of what was happening, but before they cold take action, the red ring moved in. Splashes were heard, as one after another the red youma, that looked like hinman, leapt out of the water and wrapped themselves around the people that the whirlpool was spitting out.

Once no more people were being spit out of the eye of the whirlpool, the whirling continued, but the soldiers could see a difference, the water level was in a way evening itself out, the whirl was moving upwards.

Then they saw it, the mysterious youma that they saw in the middle of the original whirlpool was standing where the eye of the whirlpool used to be. Around it, all that remained of the vortex, were simply ripples on the surface of the water.

From the air, the soldiers watched the youma, those with the people in their clutches, and those without, move towards the coastline of Kei. Once on land, they made their way to a cave, entered it, and disappeared from view. All this the soldiers witnessed from their vantage point in the sky.

Finding it important to investigate the matter, the soldiers flew down, on the backs of their kijyuu, in the direction of the cave. Drawing their swords, they entered the cave.

*

Kurai noticed the presence of the soldiers even while he was feeding on the eight serpents, he ordered his servants to take on their human forms once they all returned to the camp that they had set up within the cave.

Once inside the cave, the soldiers, all men, got comfortable, for they knew that their stay in the cave would only last so long. The youma and golems around them after having shifted back into their human forms, made the soldiers more comfortable. But they all tensed up when Kurai joined them inside the safety of the cave. His slow transformation from monster to man still freaked them out a bit.

"Soldiers of Kei are coming to investigate, play pay them no heed, and everything will be alright," Kurai told them all, more like ordered.

After a few more minutes passed the soldiers of Kei entered the part of the cave where Kurai, his servants, and the Tai soldiers were staying.

"Where did the youma go?" one of the Kei soldiers asked the people present, none of whom answered his inquiry.

"Why wont you answer me?" the same soldier asked after asking the same question a few times.

Then one of the other soldiers not liking the feeling of being ignored tried to touch one of the soldiers of Tai, the soldier's hand passed right through, as if the man had tried to make contact with a spectre.

"W-what's going on..?" one of the other soldiers asked aloud when he saw his friend's hand pass through one of the people sitting within the cave.

"I-I don't know..my hand just passed right through," the soldier said and tried to touch a different person to the same effect.

From within the darker part of the cave the soldiers began to see something moving, they also felt as if thousand of eyes were looking at them.

"I-I think it would be a good idea to leave now..." one of the soldiers remarked remembering stories about a youma that was considered as the most powerful of them all, one that liked living in caves, one that could change its shape, into nigh anything.

Then they saw hundreds of eyes appear in the blackness, all different colors, but all looking hungrily at them. Then something looked like it would come out of the darkness and snatch at them, but thing was stopped from advancing by something far more powerful. Its powerful aura could be felt even by the untrained soldiers of Kei.

Kurai came out from the wall itself, he wore a black cheongsam with silver trim, black sandals, with his sword strapped to his hip. His eyes were back to being emerald green, and misty as if he were blind in that particular eye, and all the rest of his usual self, but his long white hair was tied in a kind of single braid.

From out of his sleeves, as well as around his sandals, looking as if coming out of his pants, were the only visible signs that Kurai had his Death Aura in active mode.

"W-who are y-you?" the commanding officer of the platoon asked aloud, hoping that what he was seeing was not just some illusion, while at the same time hoping that it was.

"I go by many names, and many titles...which would you like to hear?" Kurai eerily asked.

"W-what?" the officer asked slightly confused, "W-who are you?"

"I am Shin no Tatsujin," Kurai replied, choosing to go by the title that Tentei had called him, which meant Master of Death, instead of using the semi-world reknowned Karasu no Kurai, or the dark dignified nobility of the crows.

"W-what?" the officer repeated, not knowing what to make of the situation, "W-why are you h-here?"

"We were traveling home, and needed a place to stay, after eating so much after not eating for a while, I personally needed some rest, while the others have been dead for quite sometime, they needed to rest before embarking on the rest of the journey," Kurai replied.

"W-what are you?" one of the soldiers asked suddenly.

"I am Shin no Tatsujin," Kurai stated simply.

"O-ok...another question, where are you heading?" the soldier bravely asked.

"Home," Kurai answered.

"Where is home?" the soldier asked.

"In a land filled with suffering and death," Kurai answered.

"Where?" the soldier persisted.

"A place where the gods of death visit," Kurai answered, then eerily asked, "Would you like to come with us? On our journey to a hopeless land?"

"N-No thank you, I'm happy with my life intact," the soldier responded swiftly.

"Pity, we have so few souls such as you," Kurai said, referring to people that would bravely confront something which they feared, not knowing the consequences of such an action.

"W-well, it was nice chatting with you, so..." the commanding officer said while silently motioning his men to leave the cave, "But sadly we really have to go, we've got a report to make, and yeah we really got to go."

"It was nice meeting you, Chen," Kurai said, then while grinning waved at the soldiers as they slowly inched their way out of the cave, after a few small steps, Kurai took a step forward, which resulted in the soldiers tripping over themselves as they made a mad dash for the exit.

With the Kei soldiers gone, the illusion that made it possibly for the Totetsu to apper was removed from the far wall of the cave, and the magic which allowed the soldiers and others to not be touched was removed.

"Rest for now," Kurai addressed the people with him, "We leave tomorrow for Tai, then I shall continue on my quest whose objective lies in Kyou."

"We'll go with you," one of the Tai soldiers said on behalf of the group, "You may need the extra protection."

"Suit yourselves," Kurai said before laying down on the stone floor of the cave, and promptly fell asleep, transforming into his animagus form for comfort.

The form, and the pool of blood that quickly formed around Kurai unnerved all the soldiers, they didn't know what to think of Kurai, but they did decide that they would travel with him, all fifteen of them.

Kurai had managed to make it so that the blood that bled from his horn would not evaporate upon touching the ground, he found out that he could control it, but usually he chose not to, but for while he slept it was a deterent against people deciding that it would be a good idea to wake him up.


	18. Chapter 18

Disclaimer (1): This is a fan written work based on the works of J.K. Rowling. It might possibly also have some elements of a number of other works. There is no money being made from this, it is merely a work meant for the entertainment of myself and the masses. This is merely for fun, and no profit. I repeat: I am not making any money out of writing this.

Disclaimer (2): I also do not own anything that has to do with Juuni Kokki, Juuni Kokuki, Record of the Twelve Kingdoms, The Twelve Kingdoms. The only things that will probably be mine to claim are some of the names that will appear in the fic.

Warning: OCs OOCs Sues, and some crack. You have been warned.

Note 1: Post-DH Disclaimer (2) anime/novel Crossover

Legend: # denotes change of time, while * denotes change of scene/perception/POV/center of attention/small change in time

*****

*****

**CHANGE**

*****

**Chapter Eighteen**

*****

*****

Kurai led his band of merry men through the peaceful and prosperous lands of the Kingdom of Kei. Even his golems had human forms their common feature among one another was that aside from their eyes holding balls of green fire, permanent in their intensity, the cuffs of their clothes held the same fire as Kurai's Death Aura, their clothes, their long sleeved tunics and pants were colored dark gray, the same color as the rocks that made up their golem armor, that which covered and protected their flaming souls. The hedoro on the other hand, had crimson eyes, the jewel was still present on their foreheads, and they looked like butchers, complete with bloody apron, but at the same time they also a flexible-rubber-like suit underneath their outer clothes.

While the youma, including golems, forms held some of the traits that they had when they were in their natural forms, the soldiers were also made to change their looks. They no longer wore their uniforms, Kurai had them wear clothes that were made entirely out of mythril, all of which were dark green in color, and they were also made to wear dark red cloaks.

They all walked in single file, all of them marching to a silent beat, all took steps in unison, it unnerved the people that saw them. They didn't appear to have any weapons, but they all knew that should they need it Kurai would provide. The soldiers had witnessed Kurai shove his sword into his stomach, and had it vanish, which followed with an abridged explanation of what had happened.

They were making their way in the direction of the southern border, the border between Kei and Kou, as Kurai still wanted to pass through Kou, sail to Sai and visit the queen, following that short bout of madness, Kurai planned on sailing across the white sea which would land him eventually ni Kyou, where he planned on locating that shapeshifter that had gotten away while he fought with Eiko.

When they were half way to the border, Kurai decided to set up camp.

"Tai no Senshi," Kurai called the attention of the soldiers of Tai that were traveling with him, "I know you said that you would accompany me, but for the sake of your safety, I want you to travel to Koukai for me."

"Why Koukai?" one soldier asked.

"I want you to speak with the Nyosen of Mount Hou," Kurai said.

"About what?" one soldier asked.

"I simply want you to inquire about the kirin, not just Taiki, but any and all kirin for that matter," Kurai said.

"Is this part of your quest to search for the Taiho?" one of the soldiers asked.

"Yes," Kurai answered, "But at the same time I also want you to be safe from whatever it is I plan on doing in Kou and Sai."

"What about us, master?" the hedoro asked on behalf of all of his kind and the golems as well.

"I've never tasted Kochou before, so I want you lot to keep some detained in the center of the White Sea, and wait for me there," Kurai said ordered, "Do whatever you need to do, so long as it does not directly endanger lives, other than the kochou of course."

"Understood," the hedoro and golems stated.

"Tai no Senshi?" Kurai said.

"Yes my lord!" the soldiers of Tai decided to answer.

"Do we meet up with you in Kyou, or with the hedoro and golems?" one soldier rememebered to ask.

"Wait in Kyou, remind me to give you some money in the morning," Kurai said.

Once the conversation had ended, they all went about their own businesses. Dusk turned to night, and night turned to twilight.

At the twilight hour, Kurai decided that he would be advancing his plans somewhat, so he woke one of the soldiers and handed the man three satchels of money, and told the man that he would be going ahead. With that over and done with, Kurai walked, and slowly took to his animagus form, and leapt into the sky. He flew to Kinpa Palace in the country's Yei province, hoping to get a chance to do battle with Sekishi.

Upon his arrival on the palace grounds, he stemmed the flow of blood from coming out of his horn, he also made his horn become blunt, and take the shape of that of a regular kirin's. The first person that he met at the palace was none other than the resident kirin, who thought of him as another kirin, a new one. But after a while he knew that the creature before him was no kirin.

"So you've realized it have you," Kurai spoke eerily, "I am no kirin."

"What are you?" Keiki asked. Keiki was the kirin, Saiho or Taiho, the second-in-command of Kei, right next to the ruler of Kei. As Kurai looked at the man, he realized that his regular outfit somewhat resembled the kirin's before him.

"I am Shin no Tatsujin, and I am here to do battle with your mistress," Kurai answered, after the last word in his sentence was spoken green flames burst forth around his hooves, effectively killing the grass around his feet instantly.

"What do you mean do battle with my mistress?" Keiki asked, stalling for time as his shirei made their way to inform Sekishi.

"You kirin are so weak," Kurai said out of the blue, "You're dislike for blood makes you weak."

As Kurai said that he let his blood flow, and drip to the floor, evaporating on contact with the ground, his horn sharpened, and turned blade like, and as he opened his eyes, Keiki was able to see that Kurai had sharp teeth as opposed to what the kirin had been expecting to be flat like a horse's.

Kurai took some steps forward when he noticed that the kirin in front of him was growing weaker by the presence of his flowing blood. He then decided to see how fast a kirin's protectors were by dashing at the kirin intent on piercing the kirin with his horn.

But at the last second, Kurai shifted back into his human form and blocked a sword strike made by Sekishi, Nakajima Youko, Queen of Kei. He then jumped back avoiding becoming the chew toy of one of Keiki's shirei.

He then jumped up into the air, shifted his appearance ito what he looked like in the cave with the soldiers of Kei. While in mid air he set his sword on fire, then fired green fireballs at all the shirei that tried to take him out. As he dropped to the ground he drew out a whip and sheathed his sword in one fluid motion.

Sekishi rushed at him, she sure was fast, as she was able to get within his defenses, but was unable to land a solid hit on him, while he pulled himself out of harm's way with his whip, eventually landing beside the krin of Kei.

"Call of your shirei, or I kill you here and now," Kurai demanded of Keiki as he held the kirin at knife point, he had stored his whip away and pulled out his healing dagger, but no one but himself knew of its abilities.

"Keiki, do as he says," Sekishi ordered her kirin, "If he wanted to kill us he'd have done it or tried to a while ago."

Keiki then ordered his shirei to stand down, which the shirei did, but did not leave, they remained just in case something else happened. As they did that, Kurai sheathed his dagger and stabbed himself, or at least it looked like he had stabbed himself. Keiki and Sekishi didn't know how to react at seeing someone stab himself where the heart was, and survive with no blood, wound, or anything appearing.

"Why have you come to Kinpa Palace?" Sekishi asked Kurai.

"To fight you, I wanted to know how you would fare against myself," Kurai answered honestly.

"But why?" she asked him.

"Because I was bored..but with all these shirei protecting you..maybe I should take out my boredom on your subjects, they seem so peaceful compared to the people of Tai and Hou," Kurai said.

"You are Karasu no Kurai aren't you," she said, wanting to know if her guess was correct.

"Why would you say that?" Kurai asked.

"Kouko of Sai warned me about someone like you," she told him.

"Ah..that old hag told you about me did she," Kurai said laughingly, "I do hope she didn't leave out my fascination with her kirin."

"She didn't leave that out," Sekishi stated, "You want to fight me, fine, just don't involve my subjects."

"Good to hear," Kurai said as he launched himself at his fellow ruler, leading with his healing dagger, glowing green, he pierced her in the stomach. A move that didn't go unnoticed by some soldiers that were passing by their location. They immediately made to stop the attacker, but after recognizing him, they faltered in their resolve, the soldiers were the ones that had seen Kurai in the cave.

Kurai followed up the thrust with a slash across the Kei-o's neck, but his sword simply phased through her as if it weren't even solid, as if it were simply an illusion. After which he shoved another healing dagger through her heart, left it there, and dashed backwards, took out his bow and fired a hundred arrows in her direction, or what looked like a hundred arrows, all of which passed through her, but to their audience it looked like she should not be standing, she should have been laying on the ground in a pool of her blood. But she was just standing there, gripping her sword in one hand, but the rest of her featured shock.

Kurai then jumped into the air for his final attack, he brought up his sword in an upward slash motion, one which sent out a tidal wave of green flames flying in the direction of Kei-o. But right before the flames would have made contact, she was pushed out of the way by none of other than Keiki.

"Why'd you have to push her out of the way kirin," Kurai demanded, after landing on the ground, his sword and bow were no longer visible, but the daggers were still in place.

"Had I wanted to kill I'd have pulled out her heart and ate it in front of you," Kurai said as he walked closer to the ruler laying on the ground still in much shock.

"Then what did you do to her!" Keiki demanded to know.

"I stabbed her in the gut and in the heart with a dagger each," Kurai informed the kirin as if what he had done was nothing.

"You have commited a crime against heaven!" Keiki said aloud.

"Have I?" Kurai rhetorically asked, "As I recall I haven't killed her yet, and Tentei has yet to harass me again."

"Then prove it, prove that she still lives," Keiki said.

Kurai then pulled out the two dagger, sheathed them, then stored them within himself. He then knelt over the shocked ruler and slapped her. Hard.

"Wha..?" Sekishi said as she jolted out of her shocked state.

"I expected better from you, as well as your soldiers," Kurai said disappointed at her perfromance.

"What did you..? How did you..? Huh?" was all that Sekishi's brain could manage to send out of her mouth.

"My dagger have the ability to heal rather than harm," Kurai explained as he sat on his ass on the grass on the ground of Kinpa Palace, "How I managed to give off the illusion that my sword sliced through your neck without really even touching it was what I would like to refer to as a ghost slash."

"You're movements..they were so fast, so fluid.." Sekishi observed, that his attacks came one after another, seemingly not stopping.

"Ah..that..how I did that is a secret, gotta have secrets," Kurai said rubbing the back of his head.

"Now that you've bested me in battle, is there anything else I can help you with?" she asked him from her laying position.

"Just one thing," Kurai said, "I need you to answer a question."

"What question?" she asked, intrigued that he would request her to answer a question of all things.

"I need to know, has there been anything unusual happening around Kei, inland, and not along the coastal waters, or anything that I've don recently," Kurai said.

"Nothing entirely out of the ordinary, just some giant whirlpools and you," Sekishi said.

"Ah..thought so..should anything happen, please send the information over to Gyoubou, the interim ruler of Tai," Kurai said, then prepared to jump into what remained of the night sky.

"Wait," Sekishi said as she stood up from her position on the ground.

"Yes?" Kurai said turning to face her.

"You're looking for Taiki and Gyousou aren't you," she stated.

"Just Taiki," Kurai said.

"Then why do you need to pester the ruler of the country just to ask that question in the end?" she asked.

"How else am I to catch your undivided attention," Kurai stated.

"There are other ways," she said.

"But where would the fun in those other ways be?" Kurai asked, then he jumped into the sky, shifting into his harpy form and flew off in the direction of Kou.

When Kurai could no longer be seen in the sky, Sekishi turned to address Keiki.

"What do you think of the situation?" she asked her kirin.

"I think that he may have found the Tai-o," Keiki ansewred, "But not Taiki."

"You caught that did you, anything else catch your interest?" she asked.

"Many of the people of Tai love him for what he and his group has been doing, there is talk of him being the interim ruler of Ryuu that had recently lost its ruler," Keiki told her his observations, "But he does not take up the throne of Tai, and the throne of Ryuu was just an appointment or a request made by Ryuuki."

"The question is, what is keeping him from actually wanting to take up the seat of power of one of those two countries," she pondered, "What makes him refuse what the people of Tai seem to want."

She then noticed the presence of the soldiers and called them over after an idea struck her.

"I want you and your platoon to visit Tai and gather as much information about Karasu no Kurai as you possibly can," she ordered them.

"Yes your majesty," the soldiers replied, then they quickly left, they knew that what they had been assigned to do was very important, but at the same time they feared what was to come. People were known to escape Tai, but they were now among the few that would be going into a place that was crawling with criminals and youma.

#

It had taken a few weeks of flying and asking for direcion for him to finally reach Gosou the capital of Kou. Upon his arrival, he had the misfortune of meeting with a man that seemed to be dilusional enough to believe that a kirin had appeared before him, and that he was the new King of Kou.

'_What did I do in my past life to deserve meeting another Albus Dumbledore_?' Kurai mentally whined at his misfortune.

"Kirin, come here, no need to say anything, I've already accepted the position, its for the greater goodand all that," the Dumbledore wannabe said.

As the man basked in the stares of the crowd that had gathered around them, Kurai grew more and more irritated, so he moved nearer to the fool, at the same time calling his servants, those that were not busy at the moment, he was summoning them through the shadows.

"Tranform into your human state, no need to keep staying in that state," the foolish and delusional man ordered Kurai once he was standing in front of the man. The people around them began to kowtow, which annoyed Kurai all the more.

So he did as the man wanted him to do, he shifted into his regular human form, one that had a sword drawn and plunged into the gut of the foolish and arrogant man before his very eyes. It was an action that shocked and scared the crowd of people around them. They didn't know what to do, so they simply watched the events play out.

"Why you of all people would be chosen as the ruler of Kou, I'll never know, how you can be so arrogant as to assume that you were chosen I'll never understand," Kurai spoke loud enough for all to hear, but not enough to be considered shouting.

"W-why you," the man stuttered out blood flowing out of his mouth as he spoke, then with all the strength he possessed shouted out, "Y-you w-would go against the will of heaven!"

"Leave his heart," Kurai said before pulling out his sword and sheathing it.

As he walked away from the man who dared to have the audacity to proclaim himself King he did not see what the crowd saw. As the man stood in the middle of the place that they were all in, shadows appeared around him, and out of the shadows appeared hundreds of ravens, as well as a few Kiki, Kochou, and when those smaller ones had taken a bite out of the man, a jyouyou came out from the shadow under the fool, swallowing what remained of the man whole, spitting out the heart before descending back into the shadows.

"I'm sure he just wanted to be immortal, lusting after power that was not his to begin with," Kurai said as he neared one part of the crowd, "May the true chosen send me that heart."

After saying that last part, a pedestal rose up from the ground, intricate in design, and elaborate in decoration, the still beating heart of the man was on a pillow, it was encased in what appeared to be glass, or more like it turned into glass, but the people that dared approach it could hear it beat. The sentence that Kurai uttered appeared on the pedestal, with a little alteration, it read "May the true chosen send the heart to Shin no Tatsujin."

The crowd parted allowing Kurai to walk through a path created by the people, as he did he weaved spells around the pedestal, anchoring them to the heart. All manner of protective spells, that were made to repell natural disasters and youma from affecting or getting near the capital of Kou. He also imbedded some healing properties to the pedestal, which shook as he decided to place it in the middle of a fountain, giving the water healing properties similar to his daggers. The pedestal granted the water of the fountain the ability to heal all non-lethal sicknesses, wounds, and the like, none of the big things, just the little things, but it did help the healing process of some of the bigger threats to people's health.

Some of the people chose to follow Kurai as he walked in the direction of one of the gates out of the city. They didn't follow him out of the city, they just stayed by the gate and witnessed him dispatch a whole mruder og Kochou that seemingly dive bombed him, it was as if he had done something to attract the things.

Once Kurai got out of the city, he released into the air pheromones, ones that would attract youma from all around, he would be helping in keeping Kou safe from youma by drawing them to him as he walked the length and bredth of the country until he reached the shore of the Red Sea.

As the days passed, some young travelers took to following him, they watched in awe as he dispatched each youma with such speed and precision that it was scary. Land based and air based attackers came at him left right and center. Some of these youths tried approaching Kurai, but every time that they did a new youma would come in between him or her and Kurai.

Kurai knew that he was being followed, so he passed by settlements in order for the youths to be able to rest from the journeying, while he rested outside of the settlements, he drew youma to him like moths to a flame, and at those times he looked like a flame to boot, his Death Aura blazing around him, killing any youma that dared get too close. In some cases, Kurai would also engage natural disasters, those were the times that Tentei could indirectly fight with him.

The God of the Twelve Kingdoms would infuse the disasters with a little bit of his power, causing them to target Kurai. Plague and famine swirled around the area around Kurai, causing the plant life to die, and the people following Kurai to grow sick and weak. But Kurai would defend them, by covering them in an invisible barrier made up of his magic, then he would retaliate with some healing magic, his aura changing from green flames to green molten fire, that surged forward and into the winds and killed of all viruses, and the like in the air.

When a regular storm, hurricane, or weather related disaster struck around Kurai, he would fight fire with fire. When it rained fire, Kurai would spit out fireballs, regular fire, from his mouth, canceling fireballs with his own. When a tornado touched down, he would make the winds around him pick up speed and swirl around him at speeds that could withstand grinding into the tornado. When it rained, as if all the water in the world was being used to try and drown him, Kurai would gather the water in balls, and throw them back into the rain clouds. When lightning flashed across the sky, he would force out poles of pure iron to catch the lightning, and ground them.

Not liking his continued losing streak, Tentei decided that he would send a massive mixture of disasters and youma at Kurai, infused with his power. Kurai reacted to the surprise attack with as much skill in dodging as he could force out of himself. Everything that Tentei threw at him was directed solely on him, he became the eye of a storm, a super storm, one that gathered all the natural disasters of Kou in one place, as well as all the youma that Tentei could spare on such short notice.

As the youma raced to take a bite out of Kurai, he brought out his trusty bow, and fired magic arrows made out of wind at each and every one of the attacking youma, killing each one instantly via decapitation. There were literally hundreds of them.

The provincial army of the province that Kurai was in had been fiercely battling with a number of hungry youma, they were relieved when the beasts suddenly up and left, paying them no mind. But then the officers believed that something was not right, why would youma suddenly leave like they did, and so he ordered his army to follow the youma, which eventually led them to the sight of one battling taking out literally hundred of youma a second. The soldiers got the low down from the people that decided to follow Kurai, and was in awe at what one man could accomplish.

While he dispatched youma left, right, and center with the grace and ease of someone that had absolutely nothing better to do, he did not move from within a small space that was surrounded by gale force winds that could tear a man to pieces within seconds. Outside of the barrier of wind was a tower of green fire swirling alongside the tornado of winds, and beyond those two walls were poles of iron jutting out of the ground catching the lightning that flashed overhead and tried to slam into Kurai.

Each youma was shot with two arrow in succession, one of wind, and one of fire, one to slice of its head, and one to turn the body into ash. The rain was not like any kind of rain that the people of Kou had ever encountered, instead of harmless droplets, the rain would form ice needles and rain down piercing death upon Kurai, had his barrier of wind not stopped any of them, as well as the green flames that softened them up a little.

When it started to rain black fire, the soldiers began to pray to Tentei to stop the madness before their eyes, but to no avail as Tentei continued his onslaught. He may have forbidden himself from interfering with mortal affairs, but Kurai was personal. The black fire was so hot that upon touching the ground, the earth melted into nothingness, as if a part of the void ate up the spot where the fire landed.

Kurai calmly continued his arrow barrage on all the incoming youma, but after a while felt that his magic was growing little, his reserves were being used up due to all the things that he had been doing at the same time. Storing his bow, he pumped his elemental attacks full of magic and let the circle around him widen, encompassing a larger amount of land, and even reaching as far as fifty feet away from the army and his followers.

With the larger tunnel, he summoned down lightning and flung a ball of it upward and into the storm, it was powered not only with natural lightning but with a lot of magic as well, the target was none other than Tentei himself.

"Get your lazy arse down here and fight me like a man ya fairy!" Kurai called out Tentei challengingly.

The god replied with a thousand flashes of lightning slamming into the ground outside of the whirling vortex of wind and green flames, erecting a barrier of electricity in the process, while also tearing the earth asunder, causing gouges in the earth the size of the width of a regular sized jyouyou. The youma were swept away into parts unknown, to bother the people of Kou another day, so that he could focus on Kurai.

Arcs of red lightning flashed in the sky, all of which converged above the center of the whirling vortex, then with a mighty booming sound that could have split the heavens, and sent the storm clouds in a frenzy, a torrent of red lightning slammed into the ground in front of Kurai.

From out of the dust that had formed walked Tentei, wearing robes of white, with black sashes crisscrossing his person, strapped to his back was a broadsword. Replacing the smell of burnt earth was the smell of Sakura blossoms in full bloom.

"So you really came," Kurai said as he unsheathed his sword, "In person too."

"I'm tired of losing to the likes of you," Tentei said, gnashing his teeth as he saw a smirk form on Kurai's face.

"I've always wondered what it would be like to beat the immortal shit out of a true immortal," Kurai said while he send his magic through his sword causing green flames to coat the blade.

"I've been wanting an excuse to beat your ass into the ground," Tentei said as he drew his own blade, and caused tiny arcs of lightning to run up and down the blade, "Now I've got my excuse."

"You ready to be beaten?" Kurai asked the god as he got into his starting stance.

"You ready to lose?" Tentei asked the Master of Death as he too got into his starting stance.

"Whenever you're ready ya homo," Kurai taunted.

"Student of the Crossworlds, che, they simply took pity on you," Tentei taunted, knowing that Kurai did not like being pitied not matter how pathetic he had become in the past, "I ain't no homo, you nancy boy."

"Well, are ya comin to beat my arse, or are ya just gonna stand there, you over grown peacock!" Kurai shouted.

"Little boys with little toys first!" Tentei said.

"That's why I said you start, little boy!" Kurai said.

As each of the two taunte one another their barriers weakened ever so slowly, as if the battle was winding down even though it had yet to really begin. The soldiers were about to move forward to confront the two combatants, when suddenly the two rushed each other, blades flashing, and coming together with a resounding crash, bang, boom.

The people of Kei watched as they slowly ran at one another, they were not aware that Kurai and Tentei were dragging along a lot of their power with them, poouring it out and focusing their all into their blades, the only parts of themselves that would be touching in the next few seconds.

Once the two blades met at the eye of he storm, the shockwave was so overwhelming that even the people on Mount Hou could feel it, it even sent tremors through the ground which shook not only Kou, but also Kyou which was paralel to it. It was strong enough to cause Soufuu Palace in Kyou to shake a little bit, enough for the little queen to be convinced that something was up.

Their auras were blazing around the two of them, like two opposing storms grinding against one another, battling for dominance. Their blades sparking, heating up, and causing burn marks to appear on their wielders. When it became too much for the two combatants to hold on, they leapt away from one another. Their sudden movement and sudden evacuation of the air space that they had filled in caused a sonic boom to be heard, which shattered the window glass window located on Mount Hou. A black hole had also temporarily formed and sucked up part of the earth that they had previously been standing on, after dismantling itself, all that was left was a gaping hole in the ground.

The two combatants paid the development no mind, they simply stared at one another, the battle of will once again began. Each drawing on more and more of each other's power, battling for dominance, all the while pushing against the ground they stood upon, and causing cracks and craters to form around them.

The intensity of their power was so strong that large chunks of the ground began dislodging themselves and began to float off of the ground. These pieces of earth the two fighters used as projectiles telekenetically flinging pieces of rubble at one another, blasting any that came to close with the sudden appearance of a fireball, or a small shoku.

With the use of shoku, came the realization of teleportation, which is exactly what they did. They zipped around their agreed upon arena, narrowly missing a slash or thrust or swipe of their foe by mere nano seconds.

It was a few hours later when the two began to visibly slow down, their attacks on one another weakening that there were no more shockwaves to be felt or black holes to worry about. They had also stopped using shoku to shatter some attacks.

Landing opposite one another, they continued to stare at one another, their released power level no longer fluctuating, increasing, but only steadily decreasing, little by little their power ran out. When they were both spent, they both fainted at the exact same time.

Red lightning struck Tentei at the moment he hit the ground, leaving nothing but ashes as evidence of his having fallen there, as well as a permanent mark on the earth.

While at the other end of the battlefield, Kurai had been caught by Eiko who had melted out of a nearby shadow just to catch him. That was when the general of the provincial army, as well as Kurai's followers decided to approach.

*

"So, what you're saying is that you are a servant of Karasu no Kurai, and he was battling Tentei himself, did I understand correctly?" the general asked after he got a somewhat explanation from Eiko.

"That's about right," Eiko answered as she bandaged her master's wounds and burn, all of which she knew would heal in time, and make him right as rain in no time.

"But..why?" the general asked, "Why'd he have to call on the wrath of a god in Kou?"

"I'm sure you've noticed the lack of youma attacks, as well as the lack of natural disasters occuring as of late," came Kurai's reply as he slowly opened his eyes and stared at his bandages, his head was on Eiko's lap.

"Don't you dare move master," Eiko warned Kurai before he could move more than just his head.

"I still need to get to Sai, and be a pest to Kouko and her cute kirin," Kurai said, while comfortably laying back his head on Eiko's lap.

"Once you are sufficiently healed I'll let you go, but for now, don't you dare move, master or not I'll make your injuries worse," Eiko threatened.

"Ah.." the general wondered how to react.

"Is there anything else you be wanting to know general?" Kurai asked.

"N-nothing, its just that once you do leave, will things get back to normal?" the general asked, concerned about he return of youma and natural disasters.

"A month or two after my departure, most things will return to normal," Kurai answered, "I'm sure that bastard Tentei is in the same predicament as I am."

"I don't really know what to say about that...how bout I help you get a ship to travel to Sai?" the general offered, "You can even take those followers of yours with you."

"I thank you, and accept the offer, although I don't think bringing along those people would be such a good idea," Kurai said.

"Why is that?" one of his followers asked from nearby.

"You'll only get in the way," Kurai answered honestly.

"What do you mean get in the way, we wont charge into battle with you or anything like that," the person said.

"Are you that dissatisfied with your lives in Kou, that you are willing to follow a complete stranger to the ends of the world?" Kurai asked.

"Yes," the person answered on behalf of all the rest.

"Well then, I want you to travel to Ryuu instead," Kurai said.

"Why Ryuu when you are planning on going to Sai," his follower asked.

"A change of scenery for you, and you can prove to me how useful you can be by working there," Kurai said.

"How will working so far away from you prove our worth?" one of the other followers asked.

"If you are able to be less of a burden, and able to follow instructions I will see you as useful rather than a burden that followed me around and led me to having to protect you from all those plagues, and other such things that came barreling my way courtesy of Tentei," Kurai answered, "Ever wondered why when you started to feel sick you were instantly cured, or when one of you were wounded you were instantly healed, or when the youma came, you were disregarded as nothing? Well that was all my doing, and frankly, it got tiring after a while."

"The master needs capable people working under him," Eiko explained.

"How are you capable, you only appeared after the danger had passed," one of the followers accussed.

"Eiko, don't you dare," Kurai warned as Eiko's youki began to leak out of her pores.

"I apologize master," Eiko said submissively.

"Well?" the followers awaited her answer.

"I know how to follow orders, I also know when not to interfere in affairs that are not relevant to myself, as well as I know how to be considerate of others," Eiko stated.

"We can follow orders, we didn't interfere in your fight, and we care for others, why can't you?" one of the followers told Kurai, not bothering to acknowledge Eiko.

"Eiko, go home," Kurai simply stated as he began to stand up, his bandages bursting in green flames as his injuries healed instantly.

"Just don't over exert yourself," Eiko said before sinking into a shadow and reappearing in Tai.

"Good, you finally sent her away," one of the followers said, "so are you gonna let us come with you or not, we have a right to go where we please you know, it's not like you're all that."

"General," Kurai spoke to the general not bothering to acknowledge the man arrogantly speaking to him, "No need for the ship, I'll find my own way, but could you kindly inform the families of these poor unfortunate souls of their passing?"

"What do you mean by that?" the general asked, fearing for his life for some reason.

"They irritate me with their whining, and their belief in their superiority," Kurai answered.

"Now, see here Kurai," the general said, "I don't condone the killing of the innocent even if they have insulted someone else of a lower station."

"To attempt to order me around..is unforgiveable, so long as I consider one not of my familiy or circle of precious people," Kurai said as his right eye turned crimson, and his left eye grew stormy.

"H-hey, we didn't mean anything by it honest," one of the other followers said trying to get out of getting killed.

"Kurai..I know that for some reason stopping you would be impossible, but please listen to reason, you can't just go around killing every nuissance you come across," the general pleaded.

"Fine," Kurai said coming up with a great idea, "General, I will let them live, and even follow me, but.."

"But?" the general asked.

"They must prove their worth to me," Kurai said, "The strong will live and the weak shall die, as that is the way of things, every end of the week they must chose one amongst them to be sacrificed."

"Fine, we'll do that, and prove our worth," all his followers agreed.

"Their lust for power is greater than their original curiosity," Kurai whispered to the general, then asked, "Would you like to follow me?"

"I am a general in the provincial army, I don't think that I can do such a thing, I wont desert my country in its hour of need," the general answered.

"Very good I knew that you were a man of character," Kurai said, "You have my respect."

"Thank you," the general said.

"But before I go, I have one request," Kurai said.

"What is it, I might as well help you as you have helped Kou," the general stated.

"I want you to be on the lookout for a taika, one whose hair is as red as blood, but whose memory of this world is slim to none," Kurai said.

"Kei-o was such a woman," the general said.

"I have already met her, but she is not the person whom I seek," Kurai said, "The woman I am looking for probably dyes her hair black, and has an aversion toward blood, or even a great fear of it equal to that of a kirin."

"Anything else?" the general asked.

"One more thing," Kurai said, "I was told in a dream that her eyes look as blind as my own left eye."

"I see...not that many people around with red hair, much less a person who dyes their hair black," the general said, "But I'll have some people look into the matter, what's so important about this woman, if I may ask."

"It would be safer for you not to know.." Kurai said, then bagan walking in the direction of the White Sea, but stopped just to say a few parting words, "I hope to see you again once I ascend the throne of Hou."

Kurai's followers ran after him paying no mind to that last thing that Kurai had told the general, not believing that it meant anything important.

'_I hope to see you again once I ascend the throne of Hou_,' the general replayed the last words that Kurai had spoken to him, and realized the importance of the woman he was asked to look out for, '_This woman is the Hou Taiho, then that means that...Kurai is..._'

#

Kurai's followers had dwindled in number after witnessing how exactly the chosen ones were sacrificed. The arrogant ones were the first to go, after they were gone, some people left, while others remained, believing that perhaps those that would ultimately remain had a higher purpose, and that those that had been sacrificed had truly been unworthy.

After the lucky person was chosen, Kurai showed them all what would happen should one of them be the chosen one. He plunged his hand into the person's chest, and pulled out that person's heart, and ate it whole. The first time was once they were on the water.

When the group finally reached the center of the White Sea, they saw the other servants of Kurai, all of which were monsters, and all of which were busy keeping several hundred murders worth of kochou trapped there. They saw what Kurai meant by capable, as well as useful, and they instinctively knew that they were screwed.

"Jump in the water and distract those Kochou, whoever of you survives after being bait, I shall deem worthy enough to serve me," Kurai said, his eyes remaining in their angry enraged states.

When all the remaining followers were in the water, frantically trying to not attract the attention of the kochou, Kurai shifted into his harpy form, then flew into the midst of the murder of kochou.

His feathers took on a glowing green hue, and he flayed the kochou alive whenever he flew by, When all the kochou began falling to the water, Kurai dived into the water before the first one hit the surface. He caught it in his mighty claws.

The ones that had managed to survive by staying as close to under the waves as they could get witnessed how Kurai had shifted forms, from human to harpy to lung dragon. Kurai had grown himself huge, in his dragon state he ate all of the Kochou.

'_Kill the cowards_,' he mentally ordered the hedoro in the water, '_Drain them dry_.'

The hedoro did as they were ordered and swarmed around the survivors of Kurai's followers. The survivors believed that they were being rewarded by the hedoro, they believe that they were being given powers by Kurai through his servants. They noticed that they were slowly growing tired the longer more and more hedoro attached themselves to them. Finally they were brought to the boat that they had used with Kurai to get to where they were. They were placed on the boat, and had enough strength to see Kurai shift to his human form and land on the boat. The last thing the people saw while they were alive was their very life force draining out of them and transfering to Kurai.

*

After relieving himself of the pests known as his followers from Kou, Kurai and his group arrived in Sai, two weeks after the Tai soldiers had arrived there and one week after the soldiers had left and made their way to Kyou. Once on dry land, Kurai had his servants travel in groups of three to the capital city, while he made his way there on his own.

As Sai was a peaceful country with a relatively low crime rate, Kurai did not find it necessary for him to show one of his weapons, but he did keep his dagger up his sleeves, ready to be drawn at a moment's notice. Sure they had a tendency to not exactly kill, or even harm someone else, but the scare tactic worked pretty well, but shoud Kurai need to dispose of some felon, all he'd need to do was decapitate the man or woman, or child. He also still had plenty of things he could throw out of his body should he chose to go for shock, surprise, or the like.

As he walked alone on one of the many roads leading to the country's capital, he made sure that his magic was always in search mode. He was constantly on the lookout for any inconsistencies in the country, like criminal activities, and hidden people. He didn't know for sure if the hanjyuu consuming monster was still in Kyou, and there was the possibility that the monster had imigrated to Sai. There was also the possibility for another part of the kirin had been given to another to wield, and it was possible that that other could be found in Sai.

He passed many fields of green, filled with growing crops, as well as having some children playing along the narrow pathways between the patties, and fields. He saw many happy people, all content with the way that their country was being run, a stark constrast to the state of affairs in Tai.

When he decided to take a break, he chose to stay and relax in the shade of a tree on the side of the road, near where he could see some children playing. But as he watched them play, he noticed that there didn't seem to be that many hanjyuu around. He could understand that lack of hanjyuu in Kou, or the total lack of such people in Tai, but in such a prosperous country, Kurai couldn't find not finding that many beastmen as normal. Something was afoot, but he would wait for more evidence before pursuing such an investigation. He needed to relax for the time being.

Some children wondered why Kurai was just sitting in the shade of a tree, when it wasn't even all that hot. So they approached him, only to see him produce an apple, the fruit appearing from out of, what they believed to be, nowhere. Noticing the children staring at him, and what he was doing, Kurai rememered the time when he worked as a magician. So he began performing little tricks, all of which revolved around fruits, some of which he would eat, like the apple.

He delighted them with his tricks, and continued to do so even when he noticed that their parents walked toward them. He only stopped when he was sure that he was about to be thought of as a strange man, stranger than usual that is. So when that happened he merely phased into the ground, and waited for the people to walk away.

When he phased back out, he was caught of guard by a spear point being shoved at his face, not nescessarily piercing him, but held in such a way that the gesture was meant to be threatening.

"What business do you have here, majin?" the soldier that held the other end of the spear demanded.

"I came to visit the Sai-o, and her cute kirin," Kurai answered honestly, then held out his hand, palm up where an apple materialized, and he then asked the soldier, "Want an apple?"

"Wha..huh?" the soldier said, surprised at what Kurai had done, even though he had been warned that Kurai could do some strange things, he had not expected to be offered an apple, a punch in the gut or his head come flying off, but not an apple.

"I asked if you wanted an apple, if not I have several other fruits," Kurai said, the apple still extended to the soldier, he looked as if he did not care if he was at spear point.

"Err.." the soldier said not knowing what to do in such a situation.

"Just take the apple, and you can tell me what else you were supposed to do upon finding me in Sai," Kurai said.

"Thanks..sir," the soldier said taking the apple, then sat down beside where Kurai sat down after phasing out of the ground.

"So..what are your standing orders?" Kurai asked the soldier, "The name's Kurai by the way, not Majin, that's just a title that some people like to call me, even if in a way I am one."

"Ah..well..we were told to just ask for your purpose in the country, and if it was to cause trouble for Sai-o, we were to throw you into the White Sea," the soldier said before taking a bite out of the apple that he had received from Kurai.

"So aside from visiting the Sai-o and the Taiho, any other reason you're in the country?" the soldier asked.

"Well originally I was just going to pass through, but some plans changed, and I did some things ahead of plans," Kurai said, then took a bite out of another apple that had simply appeared, of course that's what the soldier thought, but Kurai had simply removed the fruit from storage, "I was thinking of possibly performing in one of the villages or something like that."

"Performing what? A one man play?" the soldier asked in jest.

"Well, nothing as elaborate and complex as that, just a simply magic show," Kurai said.

"Magic? Like with the apple?" the soldier asked.

"Yes, like with the apple, some of the children from the nearest village watched me perform sometime ago," Kurai said.

"Ahh, then their parents were the ones that informed my post of the presence of a suspicious character," the soldier said, then admitted, "But I wasn't expecting you, sir."

"I'm sure you weren't," Kurai said, "Since I usually fly to my destinations, or so people believe, yes?"

"Ahh...yeah..we were told that you'd most likely travel on the back of some beast, or appear from out of nowhere, though you did do that," the soldier said, "the appear out of nowhere part that is."

"Ahh, yes, to hide from the parents, hehe, but just so you know, I've been walking from the port town, no flying involved," Kurai said.

"Oh, okay...so what do you think I should do now that I know that you don't have some nefarious scheme planned?" the soldier asked Kurai for his honest opinion, "Cause I'm going to be truthful with you, I'm new at this soldiering bit."

"How bout you just not inform your surperior about finding me here," Kurai suggested, "That was you don't need to worry about what you need to do, and go back to protecting the peace?"

"I like that idea, I think I'll do just that," the soldier said, he then thanked Kurai for the apple and left the man to his own devices, little did he know that Kurai had laced his words with magic when he spoke his suggestion.

Kurai watched the soldier walk away, then when the soldier was no longer within his sights, he stood up and walked in the general direction of the capital of Sai. Along the way he met with a bunch of other children, and he proceeded to entertain each group for a time, always stopping just before their parents could catch a glimpse of him, he didn't need to have another conversation with another soldier.

He didn't have any problems with youma or the like in Sai, he didn't even need to worry about any bandits wanting to rob him blind, not that he really was blind, he just looked it, which was probably why no one had targetted him. He speculated that the bandits took pity on his half blind self, and chose other more deserving targets.

As he didn't want to attract any more attention to himself, he simply stuck to playing the part of traveling entertainer whenever someone asked him what he was planning on doing in Sai, and he answered honestly when asked where he was heading. Some merchant caravans asked him if he wanted to travel with them, riding in carts would be faster than walking, but Kurai declined everytime.

He prefered walking as opposed to traveling with complete strangers that might find out who he is, or may hinder his search of those elusive clues as to where the rest of Taiki's power went. So far Kurai had managed to only gather one piece, which was Taiki's unimaginable power, kirin-wise at least, the next piece was the either the power of transformation or the power to command youma, whatever else was there was Kurai would find out once he reached Kyou's capital, after fooling around with the childlike queen, the idea of having such a ruler reminded Kurai of the movie, The Neverending Story.

Walking around also made Kurai appreciate the wonders of nature, specifically the beauty that nature managed to produce once peace reigned over the land, though Kurai couldn't imagine his life as a ruler, actually having to work all day. He had grown used to running around the place, going on his little adventures, staying in one place too long didn't seem like something that he would be doing anytime soon, even if his kirin were to be found.

There were times in his walking journey that he would not find any sign of beastman, asking some of the locals where all the hanjyuu were, he was rewarded with new that there was some other country offering better benefits, but what those benefits were, the people had no clue, apparently only beastmen knew what those benefits were, and every one that he was directed to was no where to be found. Someone was beating him to the hanjyuu, and Kurai did not enjoy losing, same as Tentei, he detested losing.

The closer he got to the capital the less he heard about the hanjyuu, he saw even less of them than before as well. It was as if they were a dying breed in Sai, and Kurai wanted to get to the bottom of it, he wanted to know what sorts of benefits the beastmen were promised, and by what land. If they were legitimate things, Kurai mused, he could possibly use such things in the future.

When he was a few days away from the capital, Kurai was joined on the road by a band of traveling performers, they were shusei or people that didn't belong in any country. They had inquired on why he was traveling to the capital, and he had replied that he was a magician, a performer like them, save for the fact that he didn't ask for money for his performances, he simply did what he did. They asked for a demonstration, and Kurai did his fruit appearing out of thin air thing, but with it was not able to impress the troupe.

"Why do you seem a bit disappointed?" Kurai asked them.

"Well..its just that we've seen many people pull a stunt like your trick, its not that unique, it may fool children, but there are many adults that have seen the trick done," one of the shusei said.

"Well, its not my only trick," Kurai said, then asked, "Want me to do another?"

"Go right ahead," one of the older members of the group said, "Think of us a practice audience."

Kurai pulled out a plain sword from storage, he simply pulled it out of his gut, which surprised the performers as they had never encountered someone that could simply do that, there was no preparation involved, Kurai's actions looked too natural for things to be a trick.

"That's impressive," one of the shusei said, he was talking about Kurai pulling out the sword.

"Huh? What is?" Kurai asked.

"Your sword trick," the shusei replied.

"That wasn't the trick," Kurai said.

"Then what is?" one of the other members of the group asked.

Instead of answering vocally, Kurai lit the blade on fire, regular yellow-red-white fire, played catch with it a bit, pulling out other sharp and pointy objects out of storage, then proceeded to juggle them, all of them flaming implements of burning death, and he did it with such ease too. It was an impressive sight. But the trick was not the appearance of the objects, or the lighting of them, the trick was what came after.

Kurai threw the baldes and other sharp things into the air, in random intervals. Making the performers believe that he was going to simply catch them, and that the throwing of them was to put out the flames. Which it was not.

As the bladed objects fell from the sky, Kurai opened his mouth impossibly wide, and caught each fiery one in his mouth, swallowing each one before the next one needed to be caught. When all were supposedly in his gut, he belched out a long stream of flame, shooting the fires up into the air, and not in the direction of his very captivated audience.

"H-how did you do that?" one of the younger shusei asked, awed and intrigued by the display of unknown skill.

"Magic," was Kurai's simple answer, it was up to his audience to believe him or not.

"Nevermind," the same person that asked the question said, as he knew that Kurai was not going to explain.

Kurai's audience stood from their sitting positions and began to fix up their belongings in order for them to be ready to perform once they arrived at the city. Kurai on the other hand simply walked on ahead of the merry band of performers.

"Maybe I'll watch one of your performances in the capital," Kurai said aloud as he walked away.

#

Upon reaching the capital of Sai, Kurai did the first that came to mind, he looked around for an inn to stay in. Walking around and asking for directions came easily to him, since he had been in contact with other people a lot as of late. He asked for directions to one of the cheaper inns to stay in. It was located in the red light district of the city, each major city had to have one. Once inside, and once he was given the key to a room, he found out that he his room was the last room available, and that he was lucky to have arrived when he did. Kurai also found out that surprisingly all the other guests of the inn were his servants, all under psuedonyms.

Once they sensed their master to be in close proximity with each one of them, meaning once they knew that he was within the city with then, they each mentally sent him all the information that they had managed to gather from their journey from when they went their ways up to the moment that they realized that Kurai was in the capital as well.

Many of the hedoro were able to spy on the remaining hanjyuu, and they learned that a man in a cowl, hiding his features had been visiting the remaining hanjyuu trying to convince them to go with him, claiming that they would be able to have a better future. The country that offered such a thing was never mentioned, simply the promises, and on some occasions that man would bring with him another hanjyuu that would attest to the realness of the offer. It took some repeat visits by the man but the resolve to stay in Sai quickly crumbled after so many visits from a man who was very insistent in the reality of the situation. The hedoro were unable to follow the man as he and the hanjyuu simply vanished upon meeting the light of day or night, as if they were traveling by sunlight or moonlight.

It was as if they being kidnapped, as some of the hedoro noticed that some of the hanjyuu that spoke of the benefits and their being real looked as if they were just too excited or too happy, as if they were a little bit panicked, or something like that. Kurai found it suspicious, so he ordered the hedoro to continue their surveliance efforts, but only within the city, as they would need to be nearby when Kurai decided to leave the country and move to the real objective of the journey which was Kyou.

The golems had different things to report, theirs varied from useful to utterly unimportant as they did not have the ability to hide in plain sight unless they're on a rocky place, and even then they'd have to hide the fiery glow of their inner selves, in human form hiding in plain sight was harder as they were not used to such tactics.

They had found out that something else was happening in the country, something that would not affect the country per se, just some people in power. Some of the officials were also approached by a man whose identity was not known. They had been offered power, wealth, and the chance to lead the people to an even better tomorrow. Some were enthralled by the promises of power and wealth, while others were swayed into leaving their positions in government to go on a vacation around the world, or so they claimed, but in truth they too vanished in the same manner as the hanjyuu.

Someone was going to all the trouble of getting the hanjyuu and some officials to leave their homes, luring them out with promises of a better and brighter tomorrow.

'_But why Sai? Not in anywhere else?_' Kurai mentally wondered.

*

Kurai's room at the inn was at the top floor, one would think that a room at the top floor of any inn would be the most expensive, but this one was not as it was the smallest room in the cheapest inn in the capital city of Sai. There was a window, sure, but that did not mean that it had a view worth looking out at.

Kurai lay on the bed, which came with the room, and stared at the ceiling while he pondered on the conundrum that he was faced with, that being where the hanjyuu, and those former officials, were going, and who was the mysterious man that had been luring them away. There was also the question of why were only those people the ones approached, and not the regular people. Then there is also the question as to why Sai, and not Han, Ryuu, Tai, En, or any of the other countries in the Twelve Kingdoms.

At a few minutes past midnight, as Kurai was about to enter into the world of dreams, he was jolted awake by the sound of footsteps. Footsteps were normally heard in any dwelling place, hearing some in the middle of the night is more or less norma, but the foorsteps that Kurai heard were not ones made on wooden floor. The ones that caught his attention were ones made on tiles, the tiny and quick taps made by feet taking a walk or a night run on the rooftops of the city.

He peered out of his room's window, and watched several cloaked individuals making their way across the rooftops. Kurai knew that that was definitely not normal, he also knew that people, even ones that were running on roofs, who carried other people on their shoulders or backs like sacks on potatos was far from normal.

He noted that all the unconscious people came from the homes of the remaining hanjyuu, there were a few that looked like servants of the officials that had in a sense gone missing. Kurai knew this due to the exchange of knowledge from his servants, as they had not only sent words, but images of the information that they had gathered as well. The best way for two minds to communicate was with pictures, as pictures are worth a thousand words or more.

He quickly changed from his sleepwear to his regular garb, then exited the inn, but did not alert his servants to his plans. He then brought out his invisibility cloak to hide his presence as he was a little bit too lazy to do some complex spell work while he had the means of hiding himself even from death itself, not that death could touch him any more. Leaping to the rooftops he made his way to the nearly silent kidnappers as they made their way to the walls of the city.

He was unable to actually catch up with them without making his presence known, they were faster than he thought they were, or any mortal could be. They were either possessed, or there was something else working with them or in their favor, whatever or whoever it was Kurai wanted to find out, and he had until dawn to do so, lest he be suspected of something.

He followed the men out of the city, and into the surrounding wilderness, but once they reached the outskirts of the city, Kurai grew puzzled as to why the people had stopped running, it was as if they were waiting for something.

'_What are they waiting for? Was I noticed?_' Kurai thought to himself.

The answer to his questions arrived after waiting for a few minutes in the form of a large bird, one that looked like a dulled version of a phoenix, albeit a large one, one large enough to carry the people that had gathered. Riding on its head was another man in a cloak, hiding his identity even in the presence of comrades as if he was expecting someone to be watching. But why was no one acting on the sight of a large bird, which could possibly be a youma, appearing from the skies in the middle of the night.

Kurai was sure that the city, even in times of peace, had at least a night watch, no place was that peaceful. But even with such a security measure only Kurai noticed the people on the roofs, and he was te only person to see the large bird. Not seeing anyway to do anything without blowing his cover, he simply sat on a rock, watched and listened, hoping to catch any clue as to where they were all going.

*

"Were there any problems?" the man on the bird asked one of the kidnappers.

"None, everything happened perfectly, same as all the other extractions," the apparent leader of the operation answered.

"Was anyone suspicious of you before you began the operation?" the one on the bird asked.

"No one suspected us, but we believe that there were a few that were curious of our activities," the operation leader answered.

"Did you come into contact with any of them?" the man on the bird asked.

"None of them were approachable, when we tried to get into contact with one of them, it seemed as if they were never alone," a kidnapper answered.

"Well, no matter, get the henjyuu on Fugen, we my illusions will only work while the moon is out," the man on the bird ordered the kidnappers.

"Understood," the kidnappers said.

'_So they noticed my servants, but at least they didn't know what to make of them,_' Kurai stated in his mind.

While the kidnappers were loading their sacks of potatos, the man that came with the bird known as Fugen looked to be weaving something in the air, Kurai could feel some form of energy leave the man's finger tips as he weaved his hands in the air.

Kurai didn't dare leak any of his magic, else he be found out by a possible other magic-user, he didn't dare even use the other skills in his arsenal as he didn't know enough about the mystery man to properly guage his skills.

Kurai believed that he hid himself perfectly, but just as a precaution he changed his appearance slightly, changing his hair black as coal, along with his eyes, and he hid away his scar on his chest, right above his heart. He shrunk his canines to a more normal length, and shortened his hair a little bit, but he left his clothes as they were.

It was a good thing that he had chosen to change his appearance, for a moment later his invisibility cloak was thrown off of his body by some invisible force, something had seen through the one cloak that not even death could peer into.

"I knew someone was there," the mystery man stated as he looked at Kurai, "I could sense someone's gaze lingering on my being."

"..." Kurai said nothing as he continued to sit on his chosen rock, but silently summoning his cloak into himself for safe keeping.

"Are you giving me the silent treatment?" the man rhetorically asked, then said, "That's very childish of you, but tell me, who are you?"

"Why do you want to know?" Kurai asked, making his voice gain a rasping accent.

"I only wish to know who I'm about to erase from existence," the man said.

"It is rude to demand the name of another without giving one's own in the first place," Kurai stated.

"Ah, forgive me, since you are going to die anyway I shall give you my name," the man said, "I am Sen Jishin."

"Before I give you my name, would it be possible for myself to know what your plans for those hanjyuu are?" Kurai asked.

"Well, since you are to die, and I know of no one that would be able to contact you in the afterlife, I might as well," the man said, but instead of answering Kurai he threw his palms out in Kurai's direction and fireballs flew from them and impacted the ground where Kurai was on.

Luckily Kurai had sensed the attack, and had the balls of fiery death phase through him.

"I though you wanted to know my name?" Kurai asked while he dusted some dirt that had landed on his clothes as the fireballs exploded on the earth and rock that he had been sitting on earlier.

"You were stalling for time, hoping that your friends would come and help you," Sen Jishin said, "But they wont get to you in time, I've erected a barrier that only I or someone close to a god in power would be able to break, you wont be getting any help from anyone, you wont be able to stop my Lord's plan of renewing the world!"

"Drivel, useless, worthless, what are your plans with those hanjyuu?" Kurai stated evenly.

"You think so lowly of our dream of a new world? One with peace, prosperity, no youma, and everlasting happiness!" Sen Jishin shouted, then threw a few more fireballs at Kurai.

"It is a wonderful dream, but not something that man would willingly accept, not all men are as delusional as you to believe that something like that can happen overnight, and without the permission of Tentei," Kurai said as he sidestepped all the balls of fiery death.

"A man? You called me a man?" Sen Jishin demanded Kurai to answer by sending even more fireballs.

"Yes, I call you a man, for that is what you, pitiful as you are, are," Kurai stated while sidestepping the fireballs once again.

"I am no man, I am Sen Jishin, chosen of one who would change the world!" Sen Jishin proclaimed, "While you are nothing!"

"What are your plans for those hanjyuu?" Kurai repeated one of his earlier questions calmly, as if he was not confronted with a possible death.

"Stop stalling and accept your fate!" Sen Jishin shouted as he hurled larger balls of fire at Kurai, all of which Kurai simply sidestepped or allowed to phase through him.

"Stop avoiding the question and answer it," Kurai calmly said staring Sen Jishin in his now visible eyes, the cowl of his cloak having fallen off as the man threw ball after ball of fire at Kurai, they were golden in color, glowing in the night, evidence that the man was magical in nature, and that his fireballs were not some power gifted to him by some rebellious god.

"The hanjyuu have long been seen as lower than human in the world, they are lesser beings, we will awaken them in a world where all are equal, all are one," Sen Jishin stated solemnly, then shouted, "I've answered your question, now accept your fate! It is your destiny to die by my cleansing flame!"

But before Sen Jishin could recommence his supposed obliteration of Kurai, one of his men approached him.

"Sir, we've got them all on Fugen, plus we're running low on moonlight," the kidnapper said.

"Get on Fugen, I'll make this fast," Sen Jishin replied, the man doing as ordered.

"..." Kurai needed not to say any words, he simply dashed in Sen Jishin's direction, which resulted in him barreling into the man, knocking him to the floor, flat on his back, his facial expression one of surprise.

"I accepted my fate long ago," Kurai stated, his own eyes beginning to glow with an unseen light, then said, "My fate and my destiny are my own to chose, no one can dictate what I am to do or become, other than myself."

"My Lord said that all that stand in the way of a better and brighter future do not deserve to live," Sen Jishin said, then flung his arms out, causing a wave of fire to push Kurai backwards, then he said as he stood up, "And you are definitely unworthy of the gift of life."

He then faced Fugen, the giant bird, and spoke to his men.

"Return to our Lord, I'll find my own way back, it seems that this pest will need a little lesson in pain to understand that he picked the wrong wizard to mess with," Sen Jishin ordered.

"Yes, my lord," the kidnappers said, and somehow got Fugen into the air, and off they flew in the direction of wherever their 'Lord' was.

"Now where was I? Ah yes..teaching you a lesson," the wizard said as he readied himself to cast some more powerful spells.

"I will not accept what fate you have planned for me so easily," Kurai said as he opened the flood gates gholding back a portion of his vast power, his power that could rival a god's.

Kurai's magic blasted out of his core, and spread through his body like wildfire, and also sent out a physicaly felt wave of power that slammed into his foe, pushing Sen Jishin back a few steps. Kurai's physical features then shifted back to what had been for some time now, his regular human form.

"Impressive, that last attack must have used up most of your power, else you would have attacked me again by now," Sen Jishin said believing that he shockwave that had pushed him back was an attack, "Who was you master? Or are you not going to answer that question as well."

"I had several teachers in my life, but the greatest one of them all was myself and experience," Kurai answered offhandedly, then said, "But as for my name, I guess it would be alright for me to tell it to you now that no one else will hear."

"Well then what is is?" Sen Jishin said impatiently wanting to get into the fighting part of their confrontation, but at the same time wanting to know the name of the man that he intended to erase from existence.

"I am Shin no Tatsujin, Karasu no Kurai," Kurai stated as he released the flood gates of another portion of his power, releasing yet another shockwave which pushed Sen Jishin to his knees rather than backwards.

"Shin no Tatsujin is a title to one that has mastered death itself, ha! You can't be him!" Sen Jishin said, not believing one bit that Kurai was who he said he was, "Karasu no Kurai? Why would such a man bother with such matters outside of his country? Now tell me who you really are and stop stalling."

"I have told you the truth," Kurai said as he released a third flood gate, this one bringing forth his Death Aura around him, killing some of the surrounding vegetation in the process, and scarring the earth around his feet, "I am Shin no Tatsujin, Karasu no Kurai, and you executioner!"

With that proclamation, Kurai launched himself at his foe tackling the man to the ground once again, but this time flaying the man's skin with but a thought as his aura slammed int othe man's skin, causing him to scream then blow Kurai back with a gout of searing hot flames from his mouth.

Then instead of spouting out another fire attack, he healed himself instead, wasting precious seconds that he could use to attack Kurai in.

Kurai allowed his foe to heal himself, not wanting to end the fight right then and there, his bloodthirsty and sadistic side coming out as his right eye turned crimson and his left turned electrifyingly stormy.

"You think all I can do is use fire spells," Sen Jishin said thinking that Kurai was underestimating him, he then drew out a short sword from underneath his battle robes and cloak, and made a slash in the air, which sent some kind of cutting winds in Kurai's direction, "Fire may be the strongest, but wind is the fastest!"

Kurai then drew his own blade, his broadsword, charged it full of wind magic, then cut all of the cutting winds to pieces, dispersing the wind back into the world as the magic in them had been destroyed.

"But I am faster," Kurai said as he resheathed his blade, and attached it to his back.

"I guess I'll have to shake you up a little bit," Sen Jishin said as he slammed both palms on the ground causing the earth to rumble and roll, as well as a snake made of rock to form and slam into Kurai, faster than he could blink, Sen Jishin then said, "That is what you get for underestimating me!"

"..." Kurai said nothing as he got himself off of the ground dusting off the dirt from his person, once he was done he addressed his opponent, "Your attacks are as pitiful as this barrier of yours, I think its time to let the world know of our existence."

"You do not have the power to perform such a feat," Sen Jishin said as he sent mulltiple rock serpents at Kurai, all of which were dodged as Kurai now expected them.

"Stand still and die, already!" Sen Jishin demanded.

"Alright," Kurai said seemingly halting all movement, "I will," he said, then taunted his opponent a little bit more, "Come at me with everything you've got, unless you're scared that you will lose."

"Fine! I will!" Sen Jishin shouted, then began to draw intricate patterns in the air with his magic.

'_So Master Crius was unaware of the existence of wizards in this world, or are there so few of them that even the gods are unaware of their existence,_' Kurai thought, '_Doesn't really matter, I'll not let anyone use me again._'

'_There aren't any, we checked, someone must have granted the power to them, a powerful someone,_' Kurai heard Crius speak to him in his mind, '_His Lord is most likely a god dissatisfied with Tentei's choices and rule_.'

'_I suppose you are right,_' Kurai thought back, '_But then would that mean that my foe has a piece of Taiki's power?_'

'_It is possible, who knows what those Holy Beasts are truly capable of,_' Crius said, but continued to speak, '_Do not kill him too quickly as you might be able to get some more information out of him._'

'_Thanks for the advice,_' Kurai thought back, then returned his attention to his fight.

"Spirit of the Fires and Winds, burst forth and destroy my foe!" Sen Jishin shouted out as he added the last parts of the intricate pattern he had been drawing in the air with his magic, Kurai only managed to hear that last line, but doubted that the spell was all that powerful.

He was surprised that the spell was actually quite powerful, he was hit in the chest by a fiery vortex whose wind and fire rotation speed would rival that of an F5 tornado. It burned a hole through his solar plexus, incinerating his diaphram, and narrowly missing damaging his heart. His clothes were blown of, and his sword was flung into the air, landing beside his head once the onslaught had ended.

"You underestimated me, how pathetic of a man claiming to be Karasu no Kurai," Sen Jishin said.

"Pathetic? Me?" Kurai asked slowly from his prone position on the floor, "Ha, you had to use your strongest attack to do this much damage to me."

"But in the end, I beat you, now tell me your name before you die," Sen Jishin demanded of what he thought to be a dying man.

"Why are you so insulted that I claim to be who I claim to be?" Kurai asked, feigning weakness, his burning Death Aura having been sealed up beneath his skin, forcibly being held back, its healing properties being locked away for the time being.

"Because he is a man that I admire, he fights against the world, and the way things are, bringing hope to the people of a possible brighter future, one that my Lord will bring about," Sen Jihin said in a semi-reverent manner, "He is a man that has dared to go against Tentei, and appears to be surviving against the odds."

"Where'd you hear that drivel?" Kurai asked, letting out a little bit of arogance.

"..." Instead of answering Kurai Sen Jishin kicked him in the side causing him to gasp out, even with his, visibly, damanged lungs.

"W-what did you do that for?" Kurai asked.

"You dare insult a great man, though not as great as my Lord, with your dying breaths!" Sen Jishin said enraged, then pulled out Kurai's blade from the ground, and raised it, then said, "I no longer care for your insignificant name," before bringing the blade down, intending to sever Kurai's head from his shoulders.

Instead of a blade hitting flesh, Sen Jishin was bent over the ground, sword no longer in his hands, and foe no longer on the ground, there was not even a drop of blood that could be seen on the floor. Just a shadow of a man standing behind him.

Kurai healed himself faster than a blink of an eye, and moved at speeds that no normal person would be able to see, it was as if he had stepped out of time and moved at a sedate pace, then reentered it when he was in his desired position.

"I **am** Shin no Tatsujin, Karasu no Kurai," Kurai said with his back turned to his foe, he then tore down the barrier with little to no effort, sending out a shattering sound as loud as a gong, which could be heard even in the city whose residents were still asleep, then coldly said, "Accept **your** fate, and die."

But before Sen Jishin could die he felt his mind aflame, fire coursed through his mind driving him close to the brink of insanity. Kurai had used legilimency on the man, the power to read minds, and raped his mind of all information about his operation, which wasn't really a lot. The only things the man knew were all related to his mission of collecting hanjyuu, the location in which they were brought to was known only by Fugen, as the bird traveled within clouds before descending when they reached their destination, but that memory was too blurred to decipher.

A second later the man felt the rest of his insides catch fire, it was like the cruciatus curse was being used on him, when in fact Kurai still could not use that particular curse, he had used something else, he willed the man to feel unimaginable pain. As only someone with a greater will would be able to break the illusion it was able to firmly take hold on Sen Jishin, a man who's will was weaker than Kurai's.

"M-make i-it s-stop! P-please!" the man cried out into the night, his pleas falling on deaf ears, as Kurai refused to listen to the man, and simply walked away heading back to the city, there as still some moonlight left for him to walk at a moderate pace.

The pain left Sen Jishin moments after Kurai left the glade where they had done battle. He thought that the worst was over and that he had been spared. But his hopes were dashed when he heared the distinct caw-like sound of a raven, or in this case, more than a hundred of the things. All of which were perfched on branches of the surrounding vegetation, not all of them were real, some were simply part that Kurai had left behind to utterly annihilate his foe. He would leave nothing but bones and absorb the man using his ravens, these ravens that his body and magic produced for him to use as he saw fit. They were different from the ravens that called themselves Karasu, as these ones were of only one mind, and were simply extreme extensions of Kurai's self.

#

Afternoon was the time that Kurai woke from his deep slumber, he had not realized that he was so tired, his momentary weakness must have been from his apparent lack of sleep due to his constant and somewhat non-stop traveling. He slept like a rock, even when he was informed by one of his servants that it was time for breakfast.

He had learned a lot from his middle of the night jaunt into the outside of the city, such as his true foe being an unknown even to his own people, and that a bird had more power in such a group than some magician. The operation was headed not by Sen Jishin, but by the monster Fugen. Kurai suspected tha Fugen was some spirit that had been, for some reason, offered power. Kurai now had another being on his list of things to find, and do battle with or something similar.

As he walked out of the inn and into the city, his clothes being of the same style as his ruined ones, luckily he had several hundred spares of all of his clothes,and other things all of which were conveniently stored in his self, he noticed that the gossip of the day revolved around a night patrol squad having chanced upon what looked like a murder of crows, but which turned out to be of a larger bird than the common crow, but just as black. The birds were said to have not paid any mind to the soldier and continued to devour their prey. The soldiers only realized that it had been a man when they saw a hand sticking out of the group of birds. They had tried to rescue the man, who was sadly alive through the hole ordeal, his scareaming being what had called the attention of the night watchmen patrol. When the birds were done with their meal they flew off into what was left of the night sky and headed for the city, but seemed to vanish into nothingness once within the walls.

His handy work had been found earlier than expected, but he knew that he still had time before the authorities suspected him. How he knew was the simply fact that he knew that Sai-o would know he was responsible due to his being Karasu no Kurai, and his famous fondness for the black birds, which his organization was known for as well as was called. He knew that once the report or rumor reached her, she would have the royal guard search the city for him, which would lead to him being brought before her.

Knowing that such a thing was bound to happen, he decided to look for that troupe shusei that he had traveled with for a time, and watch their performace should they be in the city.

After asking some people if there was a traveling band of performers, and getting the directions to where they were staying, Kurai finally met up with them again. They tried to get him to perform for them, or with them, but he had declined, stating that had more important things to do.

"Like what?" one of the members of thet troupe had asked him.

"Like watching you perform," Kurai had answered, and entered the tent that they had set up for their performace.

In the tent, after a few more people arrived to watch the show, the performers bagan telling a story they had heard from some travelers, and gossip mongers, and had patched together to what was considered as the general truth. The play started out by someone playing the part of a kirin, or a kirin-like being appearing before an old man, leading to the creation of a fountain, followed by battles with nature and youma, culminating with a draw against Tentei.

When Kurai had finally absorbed the fact that the story was about him, and his exploits in Kou, he nearly fainted from shock. News really did travel fast, no matter where in reality one was, it was so unreal. His story had become the stuff of legends in such a short period of time.

After the play, he left the tent and went to where the performers were, as he wished to speak with them before he had to leave with the soldiers that were no doubt approaching the caravan.

"Why is it that you chose that story to be the one told?" Kurai asked one of the elders of the troupe.

"It seemed somewhat fitting, due to the atmosphere of the day, due to last night's events," the elder answered, then asked, "Why, was there anything missing from our telling? We only based it on the things that we had heard as we were unable to witness the events happen in person."

"Why are you asking me that question?" Kurai asked.

"You are the only person to come to us and ask us why we did what we did," the elder stated.

"That's all?" Kurai asked.

"That and one of the children selling treats during the performance heard you mutter 'why my story'," the elder said, "The child said that there was too much of a hint of surprise and disbelief in your voice that she believed that you were the one in the story."

"What a perceptive child," Kurai said with a slight hint of approval.

"You are no ordinary wandering performer I take it," the elder observed and said with a questioning tone.

"I think you know the answer to that question, old man," Kurai said, "I better get going," he then walked away from the old man, and in the direction of the palace, deciding the he would be the one setting the time and date for his meeting with Sai-o, and not the other way around.

*

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but did you say that you fought with someone that had kidnapped some of my subjects? Killed that someone, and allowed the other perpetrators to get away?" Sai-o asked Kurai, after he had told her of the night's events, as well as some of the information that his servants had managed to gather for him.

"Basically, yeah," Kurai affirmed.

"Why did you have to kill the man in such a manner?" Sai-o said as she was truly uncomfortable with the way that Kurai had dealt with Sen Jishin.

"But at least now I know who else to look for, for clues as to the whereabouts of Taiki," Kurai said instead of answering Sai-o's question.

The two were seated by the railing which Kurai had fallen off of during his last unwelcome visit, where he had attempted to verbally molest the country's kirin.

"Taiki? What about Gyousou?" Sai-o asked after realizing that he had not mentioned the ruler in his comment.

"I've already located Gyousou," Kurai said, "Taiki is the only one who remains missing."

"What clues have you managed to gather so far?" Sai-o asked, "And where is Gyousou, I have not received word of his return to Tai."

"That is because he is not in Tai, he is in Kei, or rather, he is underneath Kei," Kurai said.

"Undernethe?"

"There is an cavern many miles under the soil of Kei," Kurai clarified, "He is found sleeping, or something like that, in that cavern."

"Why did you leave him there?" she asked.

"I was told that only Taiki would be able to wake him, what would bringing him out in such a state do?"

"Nothing...but still, leaving him there..."

"Getting back to what I've gathered about Taiki," Kurai said returning to the original topic, "He is alive and well, but without his powers and memories of his life in this world."

"Anything else? Or is that all that great Karasu no Kurai was able to gather in such a period of time," Sai-o mocked slightly.

"His memories are sealed within his own mind, but will only be accessible should he regain his powers," Kurai said, "Of his powers, I have only been able to more or less locate three."

"Which are?"

"The first is his great power, the amount of dormant power a black kirin has is immense, I was able to get that piece back, and have sealed it into a crystal," Kurai said taking out the crystal, and allowing some of the power held within leak out, just enough to catch Sairin's attention and have her run to where the two rulers were having their conversation.

"I felt him! Where is he?" Sairin shouted, she was refering to Taiki, as even she knew what he more or less felt like for some reason.

"He is here only in part," Kurai said.

"Oh..its you..what do you mean 'in part'?" she asked him.

"I merely have a part of his kirin power," Kurai said as he offered her the crystal which held Taiki's immense potential, energy, or kirin power, his holy ability, or whatever one would wish to call such a thing.

"I..see..I thought that he had been found.." Sairin said disappointedly.

"Is that all?" Sai-o asked, hopeful of some other news.

"His power of transformation is possibly held by a man in Kyou, and his power of flight is held by a giant bird, whose whereabouts I have yet to figure out, possibly in Ren," Kurai said, "Nothing else so far."

"Are you planning on updating all the other rulers of this information?" Sai-o asked.

"No, only you," Kurai said, then winked in Sairin's direction, then clarified, "Cause your kirin is the cutest I've seen so far."

Sai-o simply sighed, then said, "If there is nothing else, would you please leave my country for the time being?"

"I was planning on leaving soon anyway," Kurai said, then jumped on the railing, then said, "I'll see you two again after I find something new to report," before jumping off.

The two women rushed to the railing, they expected to see a reappearance of Orochi, but what greeted them was the sight of Kurai bursting into hundreds of ravens, that took flight in the direction of Kyou, as they flew, every few seconds one of them would dive into the water.

"Well that was unexpected," Sai-o observed.

"I wanted to see his jyouyou again," Sairin said, whining a little.

While the two women were watching him, Kurai mentally ordered his servants to leave for Kyou, once again in groups of three as to not arouse that much suspicion, and told them that he would meet with them at the capital, again.


	19. Chapter 19

Disclaimer (1): This is a fan written work based on the works of J.K. Rowling. It might possibly also have some elements of a number of other works. There is no money being made from this, it is merely a work meant for the entertainment of myself and the masses. This is merely for fun, and no profit. I repeat: I am not making any money out of writing this.

Disclaimer (2): I also do not own anything that has to do with Juuni Kokki, Juuni Kokuki, Record of the Twelve Kingdoms, The Twelve Kingdoms. The only things that will probably be mine to claim are some of the names that will appear in the fic.

Warning: OCs OOCs Sues, and some crack. You have been warned.

Note 1: Post-DH Disclaimer (2) anime/novel Crossover

Legend: # denotes change of time, while * denotes change of scene/perception/POV/center of attention/small change in time

*****

*****

**CHANGE**

*****

**Chapter Nineteen**

*****

*****

The Kingdom of Kyou was one of the countries in the world that had peace and prosperity, it also boasted the shortest and youngest looking ruler, Shushou the Kyou-o was crowned when she was still rather young, while her kirin, saiho, taiho Kyouki is a lot taller than her and has long orangeish hair. Shushou is similar to the childlike empress of The Neverending Story save for the fact that she is rather strict, and not as easy going or desperate as Moonchild.

She is normally one that would not panic in the face of adversity, or one that is easily surprised. But anyone that sees that sea in the sky turn black, and looking polluted or dead would react in a manner such as she did. The face of the country, representing the people screamed in fear like the little girl she looks like, even though she has lived far longer than she looks. The palace guards arrived at the sight of her in the embrace of Kyouki, as if clinging on for dear life, but as they looked to what should have been a clear sky, they knew what was wrong.

It was as if a plague of locusts were descending on the kingdom, and there was nothing the will of heaven could hope to do about it. It was one of the worst possible things that could happen during a ruler's time on the throne. It was a natural disaster so bad that it would take a while to recover from, and it was also a sign that if the ruler did not change his or her ways, true disaster would befall the country in the sense that there would no longer be a ruler to ruler and govern. Chaos would rule.

Up in the sky, if one could see clearer, the people staring at the sky in horror would have been even more frightened. The sea in the sky was brimming with locusts, but none of them had passed through and flown down. As if hearing or sensing some sort of symbol the escaped the water's surface and descended in a black void, there were enough of them to blot out the sun. The whole of the sky had turned black as pitch, and not even torch light was able to shed much light in the darkness.

The palace may have been at the top of a mountain, that was above the sea in the sky, but it just so happened that Kyou-o had been visiting the city at the time, which was why she was so fearful of what was happening above and around them. Good thing only her kirin and guards were around her to see her in her state of distress, else chaos would erupt even sooner than any other time.

Panic grew in intensity when the locusts began landing on the people, covering even children whole, in their numbers. People began to run about attempting to remove the little critters, but to no avail, there were simply too many of them.

Screaming and shouting could be heard all around the capital city of Kyou, and there was nothing that Kyou-o could think of to ward of the evil from the place, soon even she and Kyouki were covered in the vile things.

A few hours later there was silence, the whole city had been completely engulfed in the locust swarm, and still the sky remained black, not a single ray of sunshine could get in.

But not all of the inhabitants of the city were covered in black locusts, some were able to escape the swarm, but these lucky few were not native to the land of Kyou, rather, they were denizens of Tai. The only people that were able to escape the disaster were the Tai soldiers that had decided to join Kurai on his quest. They were warned ahead of time that some kind of calamity would befall the country's capital and were tasked to hiding out in the sewers when such a thing happened.

The golems and the slimes had arrived the day before the swarm had descended upon the city, and turned a once vibrant metropolis into what it had turned into within the span of only a few hours. They had headed immediately for the underground tunnels that made up the city sewer system. Both groups were then given the task of waiting for further instructions from Kurai.

'_Scour the underground, leave no stone unturned, or dead end unsearched,_' Kurai finally contacted all the individuals, which to the Tai soldiers was still a little unnerving being contacted mentally, he then severed the connection after saying, '_I know that the one that got away is in the capital, he is somewhere underground, so find him, once you do inform me immediately._'

After receiving their orders all the members of the two groups of individuals earnestly began their quest of locating the being that had one piece of the power of a black kirin. The sewer system was just as old of the country in which the city overhead was the capital of, which made it very complex, as well as allowed it to have many more levels that one would normally imagine. It had been completely renewed every hundred year or so, but to make things easier on the builders, they had built over the older places, instead of replacing them completely. Due to some of the waste, the ground had in some places sunk further creating a kind of underground city, one whose inhabitants were not of the human kind.

The hedoro had decided to perform their part of the search in their youma form, they used some kind of chemicals produced by their body to mark the areas that they had already searched. They were able to see into the smallest of cracks and holes using their extreme flexibility, while they were also able to cross over wide gaps without much trouble. They were in charge of searching the middle levels of the sewers, which was were the levels with the most damage in them.

It was a good thing that the hedoro chose to stay in their youma forms, because after four hours of searching for their master's prey, they all chance upon, at he exact same time, some other kind of watery-slimy youma, this one was colored brownish-purple, and had a reddish-blue jewel on its head. They seemed to be the inhabitants of the sewers and seemed to think of the hedoro as cousins and tried to recruit them into their society or community for some reason. But when they realized that the hedoro were paying them no mind, that was when things became violent.

The sewer slimes attacked using the acidity and pollution stored up in their bodies to attack the moisture in the hedoros, thinking that it was just some kind of hinman. But alas the sewer slimes did not know that the hedoro were not somethings made simply out of water, but also out of bloodlust and magic, two things which gave them advantage. As they were similar to the ravens, the ones known as Karasu, they were able to pull some more magic from their master, and with it they were able to send it out. As magic is in the intent and not the words, or motions, or whatever else those idiots in Kurai's former world used to teach to the masses in order to control them, it was all intent, and of course power. As Kurai had a lot of power, the hedoro only needed the intent and some way of flinging out the magic that they had taken, stored, and were using.

The manner by which they had figured out how to use the magic was by throwing blood balls containing magic which upon impact with a sewer slime exploded in fiery death. Pollution, chemicals, and other waste products are known to be highly flammable, but the hedoro counting on theat were successful in defeating their foes, unfortunately the exposions sent the middle levels of the sewer crashing down.

The rumbling of the falling lower floors attracted the attention of the soldiers who quickly found ways to keep from falling into the rapidly disappearing and crumbling floor. Some of the soldiers decided that it would be a good idea to travel as fast as possible down to the bottom most floor, dodging falling debris, that due to age were easily broken apart, and wouldn't really kill the soldiers, but falling from the sturdier upper levels was a very bad idea.

When all was quiet, and all was still, all the individuals that were on the basement of all basements let out sighs of relief. They had survived as they had all predicted. As a precaution they had all sought out and found shelter provided by the golems that used their rock armor as shields for any possible debris that fell their way, they were able to effectively shield their comrades by gathering up some more bulk, magically enhancing their rocky exterior by absorbing the falling debris, their fiery souls eradicating any harmful effects that remained in the absorbed materials.

As they all dusted themselves off, they noticed that the place that they were in, seemed eerily familiar. The walls only looked rough, but were smooth to the touch. They then knew that they had more or less found where the being that Kurai was searching for could possibly be hiding in. But since they had not found the specific location of the being, they still had some searching to do.

The soldiers took out their swords in preparation for any surprise attacks, while the hedoro shifted into their human forms, while the golems remained the same, but made their inner flames burn brighter to provide some more light in the place that they were in. All the torches that the soldiers had originally brought down with them were scattered around and useless due to the cave in.

The hedoro were made to be the advance guard, the scouts, all of which made sure that the way was safe and free of any danger. Next to push forward were the soldiers, cautiously moving down the passageways, weary of any traps or the like that the hedoro might have missed, lastly were the golems bringing up the rear.

When they came upon a fork in the passageway that they had been moving through, they decided that instead of splitting up they would send out hedoro as scouts, while everyone else waiting in the central chamber. They waited for a few hours, having to unseal the stored ration bars that Kurai had given to them before parting ways with him, and after having him explain how they were eaten.

The hedoro returned tired as ever, all of them reporting that they had all met up in another chamber, well not so much as a chamber but simply a meeting point of all the three tunnels that they had found at the fork.

With the little snag in their search, one of the golems slammed its foot in the ground in frustration. For once their frustration worked in their favor as the intensity of the pent up frustratioin was strong enough to cause the floor shatter, as if the ground were not made of solid rock but a thin layer of hardened volcanic ash. What other choice did they have after that then to fall down the deep dark hole into Wonderland, like alice, they were of asian descent therefore did not understand why rabbits with pocket watches appeared every few minutes, and why cheshire cats appeared every now and them speaking in riddles. Even the hedoro and golems that had some form of Kurai's memories did not get it, instead they all decided that screaming their heads off was the best idea for the situation that they were in. Some of the golems literally lost their heads while screaming and had to pull their rock helmets back on using some of the magic that they had control over.

After what seemd like decades of falling, screaming, and seeing but not comprehending the Wonderland beings that kept popping up every now and then, they landed at the bottom of the hole, all of them unharmed for some reason.

'_Master,_' one of the golems decided to contact their master and update him of their situation.

'_What is it?_' Kurai asked from wherever he was.

'_Something...happened...I think it would be a good idea if you were to meet up with us now,_' the golem said.

Instead of replying, Kurai simply teleported to where he felt his servants and the soldiers to be, appearing out of a gas cloud of black and purple something.

"!!!" the servants and soldiers were unable to shout their surprise as Kurai had immediately upon arriving applied silencing spells on all of them to avoid any unnescessary noise.

He then examined the chamber that they had all found themselves in, after feeling the floor and reading the mind of one of the soldiers and getting the full story, Kurai was able to figure out what had happened that was weird to the group.

'_Cushoining charms? I wonder what for though..._' Kurai pondered his findings.

"Hedoro grab hold of the soldiers," Kurai suddenly began giving out orders, "Soldiers, no matter what happens don't you dare panic," Kurai then began drawing out his magic and pouring it around his closed fist, then continued speaking, "Golems, I want all of you to absorb into your armor as much of what I am about to shatter."

Without warning, Kurai shattered not only the charms on the ground, but the ground as well, the only charm he left alone was the one that made the ground extra hard, the charm that made the ground as hard as diamond even though it was actually just hardened volcanic ash.

The golems did as they were told and absorbed as much of the magically powered rock as they could while they fell once again into another hole, or rather the continuation of the hole that they had first fallen into.

As they fell, Kurai spread out his arms and out of his sleeves numerous hook tipped wires shot out, each hook grabbing onto a part of the tunnel walls, some of the other hooks latched onto a part of one of his servants, which eventually caused them to slow down and eventually stop.

They had stopped just in time too, for a few meters below all of them was a pool of magma, but for some reason they could not feel the heat, as it were Kurai knew what they could potentially land in and had also had the foresight to cast cooling charms on all his people.

From their hanging position they could see the pool of magma, all the servants wondered how they would get out of there alive, even if not well alive was really good. Then they all saw Kurai looking around, floating in place, all of the wires seemingly attached to some kind of rock in the middle of the hole, it had numerous etchings on it, which were runes, but they couldn't comprehend what it was that Kurai had done. So they simply accepted it as something that Kurai could do and just watched as he floated here and there, touching the walls every now and then as if searching for something.

"It has come to my attention that the entrance which we seek is not in the walls, and seeing as none of you were able to find it in the world above, I have come to the conclusion that we must journey to the world below," Kurai said, then asked, "Any questions?"

"Just one," one of the soldiers said.

"What is it?" Kurai asked.

"How'd you get the hooks to grab onto the walls, they're all clearly smooth," the soldier said.

"Oh, they're not smooth, only the ones up top are," Kurai explained, then he blew up the rock that held all the wires in place and watched as his servants and the soldiers fell to what they thought was their doom.

At a few feet away from the magma pool everyone that fell suddenly vanished with a loud pop, their visions were filled with bright lights flashing in what they thought to be the night sky, but as soon as it began it ended. They all landed in a white chamber, everything was simply too white, and as they continued to stare around the room some of the soldiers began to notice that bits and pieces of their clothing began to turn white. After that began to happen, the hedoro too bagn to be affected, then the golems. They were caught of guard, and simply stood or sat in place, but when they got their wits back, they were unable to move, only their eyes were able to move. It was as if the rapidly changing of color had turned them into soon to be white statues.

The process only took a few minutes, in the end they were not just still as statues, but they were living statues of white, even their eyes had been painted pure white. They all also felt as if something was eating at their very beings from the inside out, as if they were being separated into there pieces, but for what purpose they did not know, but they did know that they all wished that Kurai would hurry up and save them again, and hopefully not drop them anywhere else that looked remotely dangerous.

After what seemed like hours of waiting for something to happen, for the pain to stop, it actually stopped, they would have sighed in relief if it wasn't for the fact that they were still as statues, some of the soldiers even wondering how in the world they could still breathe and were still alive.

Then a few minutes after the pain left them, they heard someone approach, someone that kept on muttering about something.

"..nothing, how can nothing be coming out?" whomever the voice belonged to could be heard saying as the person that the voice belonged to neared the servants and soldiers, "He said that so long as we followed his instructions nothing would wrong would happen," the voice apparently belonged to a woman who wore a purely white dress, an actual ball gown for some reason, all of her was white, whiter than snow, the only thing that wasn't were her eyes and hair. Her eyes were yellow and slitted like a cat's, and her hair was blacker than a black hole, but it was unable to swallow light like some of the things that the servants of Kurai knew that their master possessed.

"I checked that we did everything correctly, something must be blocking our attempts at gathering their essenses whatever they are that is," another voice was suddenly heard, this time it belonged to a male, but of what race none of the statue-fied being could figure out. He resembled a mix between a man, a leopard and a crocodile, and had the wings of a giant bird on his back, two pairs, one attached to the human part, and one attached to the leopard part.

"But what? And how?" the woman asked her companion, as well as wondered aloud.

"I have no idea.." the male creature said.

"You didn't happen to let anything slip did you?" the woman asked her companion.

"I haven't made our location or our dealings known," he answered.

"But didn't you say that someone or something disturbed you in your previous location?" she asked him.

"Yes, but it couldn't be him, he was searching for cave in victims, not me," he said, "He probably has no clue as to what I was doing there, other than disecting and consuming those halflings."

"Perhaps, or perhaps not," a new voice interjected into their conversation, startling the two.

"Who are you?" the two demanded of the new arrival.

"Did our Lord send another to join us in our safe haven?" the male asked the newcomer.

"Depends on who your Lord is," the new comer said.

"Our Lord! Of course you should know who He is! You wouldn't have been able to find this place and not be affected by the spells cast around here if He did not send you," the woman screeched out in annoyance.

"Fine, fine, I know who you speak of," he said, "Now would you care to answer some of my questions?"

"So that's what you got, huh?" the mixed creature said.

"Interesting, He granted you the search for truth, the _sight_," the woman stated impressed, "What do you want to know?"

"What did he grant you? M'lady," the newcomer asked her.

"Why health of course, can't you tell?" she askedly answered.

"Oh, I thought it was beauty, but I do know that your companion got transformation," he said.

"I did," the mixed being confirmed.

"Excellent, excellent," the newcomer said as he clasped his hands together, and walked towards the other two.

While the conversation was going on the still frozen servants and soldiers could not place where they had heard the voice before. But as the newcomer passed by their lines of sight, they were all surprised to find Kurai walking and talking with their captors. He was there in the flesh, playing them for fools.

Hope began to rise in their hearts that perhaps Kurai was going to set them loose, for what other purpose did he have for coming where ever they were.

"Two for the price of one, interesting," Kurai said as he approached the two, then asked, "Tell me, do you know how many others are there?"

"Shouldn't you know, or are you simply testing us?" the woman asked, but decided to humor him, "Well, there are nine all in all, the first is _Power_, followed by _Transformation_ or _Transfiguration_, then _Flight_, _Health _or _Constitution_, after which are _Beauty, Life, _the _Ability to Harness the Darkness_, the last two being the _Balance, _and what you have, _The Sight._"

"Marvelous, you know them all!" Kurai exclaimed happily, then said mysteriously, "You've just made my job all the more easier."

"What job? Mastering the aspect that was granted you?" the mixed creature asked.

"Not that one," Kurai answered, then slammed his hand right through his own stomach.

"W-what are you doing?!" the woman cried out at seeing Kurai puncture a hole into his gut, blood suddenly gushing out from the wound, but even as that happened Kurai's hand remained in place.

It then began to bend at impossible angles, as if he was trying to get something out of his gut, but the two that did not know what he was doing watched in horror and amazement as a bloody broadsword was brought out of his gut. One which he then gripped with the hand that he brought out, he then let the tip of the blade touch the ground, leaking even more blood on the pristinely white floor.

"My job, is one that I so love performing," Kurai said as began to slouch, before speaking any further he snapped his fingers with his free hand, which shattered the white paint like substance that had held his servants and the soldiers prisoner.

'_Prepare to do battle, I sense that there are many youma that I have just freed,_' Kurai mentally informed them, as the snapping sound that he had produced was meant to shatter the magical coating that had surrounded them, as well as any other thing in the white space that they were in.

"W-what are y-you doing?!" the woman demanded as she watched all of her hard work unravelling before her very eyes, "You've ruined almost all that I've worked for!"

That was when things started going downhill for the woman, from looking perfectly healthy, she bagan to slowly shift into a more sickly looking form, one of a woman in her mid-fourties but one that had looked like she had some incurable disease, her power was that of Health, perfect health, with only one sickness able to affect her, and it was doing so now.

"Run if you wish, but I assure you, your Lord does not appreciate failure," Kurai said speaking to the mixed being, the one granted the kirin's power of transformation.

"I will not run, and whoever you are, are going to die here, you and those that you have freed," the mixed being declared with finality, then began a transformation of his own.

"I beg to differ," Kurai said as his wound sealed up, then he held out his free hand over the pool of blood that had formed in front of him, out of the pool of blood rose another broadsword. This sword was the twin of the other blade, but with some differences, just as no twin is truly like its twin, so was this particular sword. Instead of four animals depicted on its handle and guard, it had the characters for North, South, East, and West instead.

After Kurai brought his new blade out, he had to immediately defend himself from a sneak attack performed by one of the wild youma that he had freed, he didn't simply defend, he slaughtered while he waited for the woman and the mixed being to begin their assult on him.

'_What are you all standing around for! Get to killing things!_' Kurai had to mentally shout to his servants and the soldiers that were paralyzed from what they had seen and heard. But at the mental prompting of Kurai they launched themselves at the creatures, which resulted in blood and guts flying everywhere.

When his servants were finally really into the fight Kurai decided to relax a little bit, saving his strength for the fight that was to come. He decided to simply observe his opponents, both of which were sure to try and double team him. While he waited he decided to observe his opponents and attempt to decipher their identities.

First was the woman, the one that was granted the piece of Taiki which was that of Health, both aspects, that of extremely healthy, which was more or less a kirin's immortality, and the other end of the stick, shitsudou. She looked to be in her mid-forties while she was sickly looking, but when she was still the epitome of health, she looked to be in her early twenties. But what really caught Kurai's attention was her chosen clothes, it was a purely white dress, a white ball gown of all things, in no way was that asian in nature. Not being able to think up any other way to determine the woman's origin, Kurai began the fight, for as it was he would not be able to figure out the mixed beast that he also had to fight. Kurai slammed his mind into the woman's mind, blsting his way through her memories, moving at speeds that only he could travel at, brushing past recent memories, and blowing past hundreds of years worth of lamentation in death. One of the things that he had figured out was that the ones that were granted a piece of kirin were formerly dead beings.

He learned from his mental intrusion that the woman was a former kirin herself, one that had died of shitsudou, she had been unable to change her chosen one to change his ways. In her relationship with the former Kyou-o, she had gone a step further than most or any kirin had so far gone. She had fallen in love with her chosen one.

She wasn't exactly a taika, but her ranka had been blown away with the sudden appearance of a shoku, and she had been transported into a ranka that had previously been thought of as rotten. She was then raised by a common family, and had grown to be a beautiful young woman. But one day a shoku had suddenly appeared while she was fishing by the sea, and she was swept into it. The next thing she knew was that she had been trasported to a place that she was very unfamiliar with. She had somehow ended up in the Atlantic Ocean, and was rescued from a violent storm by sailors that wondered what she had been doing in the middle of an ocean of all places. From there she lived the life of an Englishwoman.

It was a highly disturbing thought for Kurai for some reason.

He also learned that through some accident she had been returned to her real world, the day before she was to be married to a prince of her Earth's Britain. When she had returned she had at first wanted to find a way back to the life that she had lived. But eventually had to give up as she had found no way to produce another shoku, as well as the unpredicability of shoku when it came to transportation, her being sent off to Europe was a nearly once in a lifetime fluke.

A few years passed by, until such a time that she realized that she had not aged past the age of twenty-two, she only seemed to age for apparently she had been sick all that time, a strange form of shitsudou, for not performing her duties as a kirin. She had found all that out after her nyokai had found her one day and brought her to Mount Hou.

During one of the people's pilgrimages she had found and chosen someone who she thought was perhaps the reincarnation of her former betrothed, after a few years of peace and prosperity, the man had suddenly grown a little greedy, and started to form some questionable vices. In the end, this and that happened, and she had fallen for him, for she was the only woman that her chosen had treated as a woman. She did not stop him slow descent into darkness, and had paid for her folly with her life.

He was then suddenly forced out of her mind by his other opponent that had noticed that he was not paying much attention to him, so his opponent took a swipe at him and slammed him against one of the walls in the chamber. It was a good thing that Kurai had such great reflexes honed after years of having to find a small flying golden ball. He had firmly gripped his two swords before flying to the wall, he righted himself just as he was about to hit the wall. He then pushed against the wall, and propelled himself back in the direction he had come from. While in the air he quickly spun himself, with his swords held in front of him, causing himself to become a whirling drill of green fire as he had also activated his Death Aura.

He was able to drill his way through whatever it was that was used to swat him away, which was apparently a wing of some kind of bird, but what bird was impossible to tell as the mixed beast had created a wing from all of the different birds that he had consumed. But at least Kurai was rewarded by the sound of his yelp of pain.

The beast hybrid had, after consuming countless different kinds of hanjyuu, youma, and other animals, had managed to master the ability of transformation not just from one thing to another, but also mix and match parts. Kurai would have admired such a mastery in transfiguration it he wasn't supposed to be fighting the thing. He decided to try his hand at attacking it mind, and slammed mental probes into the things mind.

What he found was not what he was expecting, he expected to find that the mixed beast was some former ruler or something like that. What he hadn't counted on was that the creature before him was a former nyokai, specifically the woman's nyokai, apparently he hadn't been able to get her name from her memories. But nonetheless he had found out that he was fighting a kirin and her nyokai, how fitting. But something disturbed him, it appeared that he the nyokai had failed in its duty and had been put to death by the former Kyou-o. Sure the guy doted on his kirin, and the kirin him. The woman had apparently not done anything to prevent the death of her protector.

The former nyokai had plans of consuming the sickly woman at some point in time in the future when he believed that he would be able to assimilate a second power into himself.

Standing before Kurai was a youma that he would not allow to live, or even give the chance of serving him, the woman was still salvageable, but the former nyokai, he was a dead youma, he just didn't know it yet.

As Kurai was about to go on the offensive he was once again blasted against the wall, but this time he was only able to firmly grip his swords, but not able to right himself in mid air. Something was numbing his nerves.

"I was waiting for my chance, and you just had to zone out," the woman screechingly stated, "Now, my beloved nyokai can squash you like the bug you are, thinking that you can just come in here and take our gifts from our Lord!"

Clearly she and her nyokai still thought of him as one of them, one that was simply greedy, too greedy for power for his own good.

"Since I'm nice, I'll tell you what I did to you," she said, then explained as she approached her, "I have the power over sickness and health, I infected you with a sickness that numbs your nerves and muscles, which more or less caused your body to go into shock, and paralysis."

"Thanks for the info," Kurai said from behind her, the Kurai on the floor then vanished as if it had never been there, it was one of Kurai's Multiple Man rip-offs, one that he had created just before everything had started. His true body had just arrived after she had ended her explanation.

"What?! How did you do that!?" she demanded of him as she spun on her heel around to screech at him, her rancid breath being a prime indication that she was really sick.

"Magic, clearly something that you would not be able to comprehend, ye of whom has been cursed with love, for anything remotely beautiful or simply spoils you to death," Kurai said.

"Kyourou! Kill this imbecile!" the woman ordered the former nyokai.

"!!!" Kyourou was unable to say anything or do anything, he simply had produced too many parts to know what to do with all of them, he hadn't mastered how to use them all at the same time, or how to swiftly shift from form to form yet it seemed.

"Poor excuse of a traitorous shapeshifter," Kurai said, then before doing anything he whispered into the woman's ear, "He was planning on killing you, but I'll get him first."

"Let me show you what a true shapeshifter is capable of!" Kurai shouted after straightening his posture.

He then ran in the hybrid's direction, and swiftly shifted into his animagus form, complete with razor sharp horn-blade, and the blood that seeped out of its tip, coating the horn in blood. From the ground he jumped up into the air, and summoned out his swords from where his clone had dropped them. They came flying in his direction and plunged into him, and came out of his forehead and their blades merged with his horn. His hooves burst into the green flames of his Death Aura, Both of his eyes then shifted instantly into a pair of glowing crimson orbs of pure bloodlust.

Just as he was about to plunge his horn into the beast's heart, he simply vanished from view, then reappeared at where the wing joined the rest of the body and sliced the wing cleanly off, followed by the other wings, then the limbs, then proceeded to slice up the rest of the body, as if he was looking for some kind of hidden compartment or pocket or something.

Then there was a blinding blue flash of light, followed by a white light flooding into the formerly pristine chamber. Ending in what looked like the rays of the sun streaming into the chamber, but the sources being something that Kurai stored into his self right before plunging his horn into the beast's heart.

She could not believe what had happened within a few seconds, not even minutes but seconds. She fell to her knees in defeat, not having really done much, not that her former nyokai had done much either, not even his intimidation tactics had worked on the bloody kirin that was approaching her position.

"Hand it over, and I may spare you," Kurai said holding out his hand, after shifting back into his human form.

"I..don't know what you're talking about.." she said, feigning ignorace, she feared death as it had not been all that pleasant to her. Finding out that her prince, her former betrothed had only done so because he thought of her as beautiful and the added bonus of her seemingly everlasting quality intrigued him, he did not love her. She had also found out that her chosen Kyou-o had only treated her the way that he did because he did not want her to interfere with his plans. She had also known that perhaps her former loyal nyokai would one day find the thought of revenge as pleasing, her not saving him from death could be a cause for such, but she had thought that he loved her in a way still, and treated him as she had done in their past, he had also acted so submissive towards her, so she did not suspect anything, but when he had not even tried to move to protect her from Kurai, she gave up on living even if she did not want to face the truths found in death, since death and life seemed to be the same ti her.

"Just kill me and be done with it," she said softly to Kurai.

"I have no time for such nonesense," Kurai said, in his hand was the piece of power of Health in jewel form, or more specifically in the jewel or crystal where he had stored the first piece. Where there was once one, there were now three. Three pieces of the key to Taiki's memories, and the key to returning true peace and prosperity to Tai, as well as keeping the more or less balance of the world of the Twelve Kingdoms.

"W-what? But aren't you going to kill me like you did Kyourou?" she asked bewildered by what he had said.

"I have no true intention of killing one that can still be saved," Kurai said while he stored away the crystal, then continued speaking, "Serve me as my servants, swear fealty to me, and I shall let you live, and give you a purpose for living."

"W-wha..?" she said not believing what she was hearing, as well as not knowing how to answer. There was no kindness in Kurai's voice, there was no emotion whatsoever other than impatience and slight boredom.

"I grow impatient with all this waitng," Kurai said.

"I..," she said, then looking around all she could see was the pristinely white room, just as white as it had been before all the bloodshed that she had seen. Her eyes widened at the sight and the realization that she did not know where all the blood had gone, not to mention the bodies of the fallen as well.

"Swear to serve me, and I shall tell you where all of it went," Kurai said, not needing to read her mind to read her mind, her wide eyed look was all that he needed to know what she was thinking.

"I..will serve," she said defeated, not knowing what else she could say or do.

"Good," Kurai said, then explained, "I have taken all of it into my body."

That one statement had created more questions in her mind to form, she didn't know which one to ask first, nor did she know if she could speak freely.

"The answer to most of your questions is magic," Kurai said knowing what most of her new questions were before she could over think things further.

"Master," one of the nearby hedoro said calling Kurai's attention.

"What is it?" Kurai asked.

"What do we do about the plague upon Kyou?" it asked.

"I'll clear that up as we leave, or rather as you lot leave," Kurai answered, then explained how they were to leave the place, "Outside of this chamber is a moat of magma, just jump into it and you will appear somewhere in the palace, from there you will ride Orochi, whom I have contacted, home."

"Understood," the servants and soldiers all said, then left the chamber, all save for the woman, and one hedoro.

"Master?" the remaining hedoro said.

"What is it?" Kurai asked.

"What of her?" it asked refering to the woman, "We still do not know her name."

"Ah right of course," Kurai said, then began the process of taming a youma, for technically the woman like Eiko and Kikai, was a youma.

As she was already defeated, also surprised at what he was doing, Kurai had an easy time divining her name.

"Submit, Aiko," he said with a bored tone, then spoke to the hedoro, "Take her home and hand her over to Eiko, have Eiko find Aiko something to do."

"As you wish master," the hedoro said, before grabbing hold of Aiko and carrying her stunned form to where the others were, leaving their master alone in the chamber.

'_Looks like I get to have some fun with the little lolly,_' Kurai mentally said.

*

In what had seemed like days, while in fact had only been a week, a solid seven day week, the capital city of Kyou was finally going to be rid of the plague of locusts that had descended upon them. Kurai had come out from under the city and simply burst into countless ravens and devoured the massive swarm taking in some much needed protein. All the people of the city were placed into a forced sleep state by magic which Kurai had cast on the locusts before releasing them on the city, he had summoned them all from Tai, right before they did what they did to one of the farming villages in that country.

He had been keeping them in place all this time via magic, which was also what he used to keep the people from dying from lack of food or water for so long.

As he moderately pacedly strolled along the streets of the city he cast time delayed Finite Incantatem spells to remove the minor magical threads that he had formed between himself and the people of the city. The only person that he did not cast the spell on was Shushou the Kyou-o. He simply sat beside her sleeping body as all the time delayed spells were activated awakening people that had slept for a week.

When Kyouki awoke he wondered what had happened but upon remembering what had happened before he blacked out he bagan to worry about Shushou, and frantically looked around for her only to find her laying down on the floor at his feet. He then knelt down beside her and tried to wake her up, when shaking her did not work he checked to see if she was breathing, when he found out that she did not appear to be, he feared the worst, and tried even harder to wake her. The whole time not noticing that Kurai was just there, a foot or two away from him, watching with an amused smile on his face.

When the soldiers awoke they noticed that their Taiho was panicking, and they too thought the worst and immediately went to see if the Hou-ou had cried.

After a few minutes of no response whatsoever, Kyouki gave up, and simply walked off to sulk and be depressed, it did not matter that the Hou-ou had not cried yet. He believed that he was a useless Kirin, one that had made one mistake too many, which was not being able to adequately protect his queen.

When Kyouki had finally walked a certain distance away, Kurai removed all the notice-me-not charms that he had surrounded himself with, as well as the charms that had made Kyouki unable to feel that Kyou-o was breathing and the ones that kept the girl from feeling that she was being shaken awake. He also removed the spell of sleep that was keeping her asleep.

Once she awoke she was like a real child, fearful of the world around her, immediately searching for comfort as the last thing she could remember before blacking out returned to her.

"_Shh_ child," Kurai whispered in her ear as he embraced her from behind, then continued to whisper, "Everything is going to be alright, they're all gone, _shh_."

"They're all gone?" she asked meekly as she buried herself deeper in Kurai's embrace.

"They're all gone," Kurai reassured her, then said, "Your people are also all alright."

"..." she did not say anything to that as she had somehow fallen asleep, a real sleep not the magically induced kind.

'_I guess she hasn't really gotten that much sleep for several decades,_' Kurai thought, '_Good thing I got them all to sleep for a week, now I just have to figure out what to do about her..._'

He then decided to bring her to one of the few people that would not like his presence, but would love to be in hers, so he lifted her up with his telekenetic powers, ala Jean Grey but even more powerful, shifted to his animagus form, put her on his back, and left the grounds in the direction of Sai.

It didn't take him all that long to get there as he summoned up a shoku to trasport him directly to where he knew that Sai-o would be having some early afternoon tea.

*

As the winds picked up, and the waves of the sea in the sky grew stronger Sai-o and Sairin knew that something was going to happen, be it bad or good, niether woman knew. All they knew that it would be something directly or indirectly related to Kurai, that much they were certain, and they were correct.

From out of a whirling vortex with a little hint of gold flew Kurai in animagus form, but something new had been added to his appearance.

Landing on the balcony where the two women had been enjoying some tea, Kurai shifted into his human form holding the girl, that he had brought with him, up in the air with his magic. He then faced that two women once he had the girl in his arms.

"What?" he couldn't help but ask them as they simply stared at him wide eyed once they realized who the little girl in his arms was.

"Why do you have Kyou-o in your arms?" Sai-o all but shrieked out once she got out of her somewhat self induced stupor.

"I got two more pieces from Kyou," Kurai said not at all answering the question, but asked his own anyway, "Where can I put her? She's very tired."

"Fine..fine..follow me, we'll put her in my room, where you will explain what in the world you have done," Sai-o said with a tone of voice that did not allow Kurai to even think about worming his way out of answering her question.

*

Uponreaching the room, Kurai lay the girl down on Sai-o's bed and then followed her to a set of table and chairs to discuss what had happened in Kyou, but before he sat down, Kurai created a clone of himself just in case the girl woke up before he was through with his talk. Sairin also decided to stay by the young looking ruler's bedside.

"So tell me then what you did, and you better have a good reason for doing it other than you were bored," Sai-o said, acting like the mother that she was known as being, that and like a scolding grandmother.

"She became a ruler quite early in her life, and was unable to expierience the joys of childhood to the fullest," Kurai began to explain, paused for a short while, then continued, "She has been a very strict and disciplined person, but has also neglected her health, more importantly she has not been sleeping properly."

"What made you say that?" Sai-o asked.

"She may have lived for years as the ruler of a kingdom, but she still retains the body of a child," Kurai said, "Which needs more rest than an adult, so I gave her a week off from work, her and the rest of the capital, which is known as the busiest place in a country."

"I see, but then why is she here?" Sai-o asked, "And not in her own country resting."

"I.." Kurai was unable to finish his sentence as Sai-o cut in.

"And do not tell me that you were bored," she said.

"I wansn't, honest," Kurai said, "I just wanted to irritate you."

Sai-o signed and just said, "Fine..you win..I'll lend you Sairin..whenever you want..just please stop dropping in unannounced."

"Sweet!" Kurai exclaimed but not loud enough to wake a sleeping child, then continued with their conversation, "I also wanted her to feel a different kind of comfort, from a father or older brother, an older sister or a mother, and a grandmother, that and Kyouki sure is pathetic unlike Enki and Ryuuki."

"Have you actually met Enki?" Sai-o asked.

"Well..no..but I'm friends with Ryuuki which is why I'm still the interim ruler of Ryuu...I think that kirin is just plain lazy..and wants some revenge for leaving him stark naked with a woman in his presence," Kurai said smiling at the memory, especially of him sucker punching Kurokuma and Shirokuma in the nose.

"Now what do you plan on doing, O insane one?" Sai-o asked.

"How bout we have a sleep over, where even I sleep in here?" Kurai asked for permission.

"Fine, but you are not to try anything funny, do I make myself clear?" Sai-o asked in such a way that only old ladies are able to.

"Crystal," Kurai said fearing somewhat for his life.

"Any other time and place is fine, just not in my presence," Sai-o clarified.

"Understood," Kurai said, complete with salute.

"Well," Sai-o said as she leaned back into her chair, "It looks like we wont be leaving this room for a while."

#

By the time that Shushou had awoken the sun had already set. She found herself in an unfamiliar room, then she remembered being hugged from behind by someone, she did not know who, but his voice was quite soothing to her ears. As she made to stand up, she noticed that there was a young woman in bed with her. It was quite shocking to think that she had slept with another woman, and older looking woman compared to herself that is.

"Oh I see you're awake," the unknown woman said as she noticed that Shushou had awoken.

"I..w-who are you?" she meekly asked, it had been a long time since she felt like an actual little girl.

"I am Sairin, and you are in Sai," Sairin informed the childlike ruler.

"Why am I...here?" she asked.

"The bane of Sai's existence brought you here to rest for a bit," Sairin answered her.

"Bane of Sai's existence? I don't think I understand," she said, confused, as she sat up in the bed.

"I will explain," an old woman, who appeared from the side of the bed, said, "But before I do, Sairin fetch us some breakfast and see if you can find that pest."

"I understand your majesty," Sairin said politely as she got out of the bed and off in search of food and Kurai.

Once the two rulers were alone in the room Sai-o began with her explanation.

"Forgive me, but I believe that I should introduce myself," the old woman said, "I am Kouko, the Sai-o of Sai."

"I am Shushou, the Kyou-o of Kyou, could you explain what your kirin said?" Shushou asked politely.

"The man that brought you here believed that you deserved some much needed rest for some reason, it was not my idea in the slightest, he just doesn't have anyone else that would tolerate his presence," Sai-o explained, then continued speaking, "The man whom I speak of is Karasu no Kurai, I'm sure you've at least heard of him."

"He's the one that has youma for servants, and helps the people of Tai, isn't he," she said interestedly.

"That's him alright," Kouko said confirming the information.

"But why did he decide to bring me here to rest?" the girl asked.

"Let me explain, and don't interupt until I finish," Kouko said, then she began to tell the childlike ruler most of what she could remember of what what Kurai had told her of his adventure in Kyou.

After a bit more of explaining, as well as a bit more of understanding the situation, Shushou decided that there was nothing that she could have done about it, and so decided to wait for breakfast as well as the rearrival of Kurai.

The man in question arrived a few minutes after Kouko's talk with Shusho. He arrived with Sairin and breakfast, well breakfast for the two female rulers, and for one kirin. Kurai having to explain that he had already eaten, and that their breakfast was something from where he used to live. Which was basically french toast, with lots and lots of maple syrup. A kid's treat.

After the enjoyable meal, the inhabitants of the room, ventured out of the room, and onto the balcony overlooking the sea in the sky, and had a table prepared by the railing on which Kurai had a tendency to stand on and fall off.

"How was your sleep?" Kurai opened the conversation by asking the three ladies.

"Quite comfortable, thanks to whatever it was that you did," Kouko said, Kurai had added a heavy dose of charms to where Kouko had fallen asleep on.

"Quite comfortable as well, though I'm not quite sure that I will be doing such a thing with you anytime soon," Sairin answered.

"Eh...too bad for your Sairin," Kurai said, then faced Shushou, and asked, "How about you, little one?"

"I.." she said, then thought back, then answered, "It was quite relaxing, what did you do?"

"I soothed away your worries, pushed away your problems, and gave you sweet dreams for once," Kurai answered honestly, and as kindly as he could honestly do, "As best as I could anyway."

"Thank you," Shushou said, "But could you take me back to Kyou now, I fear what might have happened in my absence."

"I'll take you back after lunch, as it is still too soon for you to return," Kurai said, then brought out a sandwich, and ate it as he watched the waves crash into the moutain.

"So what am I supposed to do while my country runs without me?" she asked a little desperate sounding, having grown used to ruling a country with discipline, she was not used to relaxing after getting into the habit of ruling.

"_Just relax, and worry not about your country, everything will be alright in the end_," Kurai said, reassuringly, his every word laced with a little bit of magic.

"Alright, fine, but if things aren't alright, what do you plan on doing?" she asked him.

"Well..hm..I could always send another plague, or actually send your officials a ransom note," Kurai thought out loud for all three ladies to hear.

"You would what?!" the three ladies said in disbelief.

"I haven't tried it yet," Kurai simply shrugged his shoulders while he said that.

"Don't ever think of trying it again," all three women said.

"Fine, fine, I wont," Kurai said, then smirked, and said, "But I wonder how Keiki will react to my kidnapping his queen..hmm.."

"I really don't think that you want to be trying that," Kouko said.

"As long as I'm not the hostage I don't care," Shushou said pouting a little as well.

Kurai, finding her pouting cute, simply finished his sandwich, knelt down in front of her and pinched her cheeks.

"Hey!" she shouted and batted away his hands, massaging her cheeks as well, then asked, "What was that for?"

"You were cute, so cute that I had to pinch you," Kurai answered, with a slightly cheeky air.

"Hmph," she pouted again, not liking being called cute, which was a little childish and caused Kouko and Sairin to cover their mouths, lest their laughter escape.

"Seriously, your pouting is really cute," Kurai said teasingly.

"Hmph," she just continued to pout, and Kurai simply continued to tease.

*

The Hou-ou had not cried, which therefore meant that their ruler was still alive somewhere out in the world, but the problem was that she had yet to be found, as even Kyouki had almost lost hope of finding her and apologizing for not being able to protect her.

All the court officials had gathered in the throne room, as they were unable to think up any solution for their current predicament, but as they were about to begin running around like headless chickens, the doors leading into the throne room were blown off of their hinges, in a way anyway. Stepping into the throne room, and calmly walking towards the throne, and sitting on it was none other than their Kyou-o.

"Kyouki, come here," Shushou said in her usual voice, which for some reason Kurai found cute and had to shove an apple into his mouth to avoid saying anything.

The kirin approached his master apprehensively, not knowing what to expect.

"You already know that I wished you were shorter," Shushou told her kirin, and so Kyouki bent down and prepared to be beaten.

He wasn't beaten per se, just slapped, but not as hard as usual.

"Next time, don't panic," she told him.

"M-majesty," her chousei said catching her attention.

"Yes?" she said, prompting him to ask his question.

"What happened to you?" he asked her.

"I was kidnapped.." were the only words that she had managed to say before the officials started to drown each other with their voices.

"_Silence!_" Kurai shouted to silence the mass of headless chickens.

"Thank you," Shushou said after all her officials had lost their voices as they were magically silenced by Kurai.

"You are most welcome little one," Kurai said with no shame or hint of teasing in his voice, and as he began to walk out of the room, he said, "I'll visit some other time," then he left the room waving as he walked out.

Once Kurai had left, and the officials stopped panicking, Shushou brought out a fan that Kurai had given her, it had a tiny jewel attached to it, containing some magic that would allow here to perform relatively small feats of magic. She opened the fan and blew on it saying one word: Finite. Which returned the voices of the offials.

"Now that I have your attention..." Shushou began to address her court.

Business continued as usual, with a twist.


	20. Chapter 20

Disclaimer (1): This is a fan written work based on the works of J.K. Rowling. It might possibly also have some elements of a number of other works. There is no money being made from this, it is merely a work meant for the entertainment of myself and the masses. This is merely for fun, and no profit. I repeat: I am not making any money out of writing this.

Disclaimer (2): I also do not own anything that has to do with Juuni Kokki, Juuni Kokuki, Record of the Twelve Kingdoms, The Twelve Kingdoms. The only things that will probably be mine to claim are some of the names that will appear in the fic.

Warning: OCs OOCs Sues, and some crack. You have been warned.

Note 1: Post-DH Disclaimer (2) anime/novel Crossover

Legend: # denotes change of time, while * denotes change of scene/perception/POV/center of attention/small change in time

*****

*****

**CHANGE**

*****

**Chapter Twenty**

*****

*****

With the presence of three pieces of the Tai Taiho's power presence in Tai, things began to go from bad to worse to better, all within the span of something close to a year. Kurai had lost track of how many months or simply how long he had been in Junni Kokki. By bringing the three pieces of the kirin of Tai to the country itself, he was able to bring some manner of peace to the land, not enough as if Gyousou and Taiki were there to govern, but it was enough to get the country a little bit back on its feet. The Karasu Organization no longer needed to go on that many trips around the land, as soon the land was able to produce just enough for most people to survive.

Some of the provincial lords and other such individuals took the rapidly changing climate as a good sign to get back to the way things were before things went sour for them. Armies were quickly formed, many of the officials that had lain low while all the suffering had been occuring started to come out of hiding and began mobilizing their armies to renew the civil wars that had been popular in the past.

Kurai was informed of the development by both his ravens and Lord Gyoubou. Upon receiving such news, Kurai decided to withdraw all his people back into his home territory, and leave the civil war in the capable hands of the idiots in power that simply wanted to gain control of the country. Tai would once again begin to be a war torn country.

He then had his kiki servants deliver messages to the innocent civilians that would be forcibly brought into the wars that were to begin soon. He offered them the chance to temporarily move to either Ryuu or to his homebase. But of course there was a deadline for the decision, the deadline would be when the last Karasu caravan said it was time to leave. Kurai planned on totally leaving the stage of Tai, and reverting to something like a hermit for the course of the civil war, he would not be having any of his people interact with Tai, the only exception probably being Gyoubou.

On the day that the armies began their march to battle another, Kurai made his final visit to the capital of Tai. Upon his arrival, his travel time being only a few seconds, Kurai walked at a sedate pace to the building in which Gyoubou usually did his business. The man had a thing about staying on the ground rather than high up in the sky, it wasn't a fear of height, just a habit of liking the feel of the earth beneath his feet.

"The citizens that have opted out of the war have left for Ryuu, stating that it would be better in a more stable climate rather than even with me," Kurai informed Gyoubou as he entered the man's office, then asked, "Will you not be joining them?"

"I'll stay here until Tai-o returns," Gyoubou stated, "I'll be fine, I doubt anyone would try to take my life."

"I would lend you some of my servants for protection, but I swore not to enter the war," Kurai said, then gave a little advice, "But I would suggest locating Gyousou's rival for rulership."

"Risai? You know about her?" Gyoubou asked in disbelief that Kurai would bother remembering some minute a detail as that.

"Precisely," Kurai said, "She's the perfect person for the job of protecting you."

"I doubt I would be able to convince her to return for such a simple task," Gyoubou said.

"Just tell her that you've located Gyousou, and have an idea of where Taiki is," Kurai said, "That should get her here in record time."

"I see," Gyoubou said, contemplating how he would word the message, then asked, "But what am I to do once she is here?"

"I'll be leaving the Tai soldiers that went with me to Kyou here in the capital for you to command, have one of them explain the situation with your king," Kurai said.

"I understand, but what if she choses to leave?" Gyoubou asked.

"Then contact me, and I shall persuade her into staying by your side," Kurai said.

"By me..side?" Gyoubou asked a little perplexed at Kurai's wording.

"If it ever comes to it, I will use certain methods of persuasion, don't worry she wont have to marry you," Kurai said reassuringly, or as best as he could with a shit eating grin wanting to explode on his face.

"I..I understand, I'll do my best," Gyoubou said, "I certainly hope I wont need to find out some of your other methods."

"Trust me when I say that you're better of not finding out," Kurai said.

"Is there anything else you wanted to tell me?" Gyoubou asked from behind the mountain of paperwork on his desk.

"Just that I'm heading for Ren, I believe the _Piece of Flight_ is there," Kurai said, then he walked out of the office remembering to close the door on his way out.

Once he was out of the compound in which Gyoubou's office was located, he teleported out of the capital and landed back in his homebase.

"So where're you off to this time, master?" Kikai asked him as a greeting.

"Ren, I believe it is the perfect environment for a bird of the size that I had seen," Kurai stated.

"Why Ren?" Kikai asked, not understanding what the bird had to do with the country.

"Ren is an agricultural country, its ruler was originally a farmer himself, and to this day prefers to be in his garden than anywhere else," Kurai explained.

"What does that have to do with a giant bird?" Kikai asked, then said, "Just so you know, big birds were never really part of Care of Magical Creatures class back when I was in Hogwarts."

"Birds eat seeds, I have a feeling this big one is no different," Kurai said.

"Alright, then after that?" Kikai asked.

"Why do you want to know my travel plans anyway?" Kurai asked his former arch-nemesis.

"If I know where you're going, I know which shopping list to give you," Kikai answered holding showing Kurai several sheets of rolled up parchment paper.

"Ahh...so what do I have to get you guys this time?" Kurai asked, slightly exasperated.

"Eiko said we need some herbs and spices, as well as...rice...and..." Kikai said, then trailed off at the end for some reason.

"Just spit it out, it can't be that bad," Kurai said impatiently.

"She said we need.._those _kind of _special _herbs.." Kikai said.

"Ahh...she kicked you in the nuts didn't she," Kurai asked rhetorically.

"Yeah..well, here's the list, the actual plant's name is on there," Kikai told Kurai as he handed his master the list.

"Anything else?" Kurai asked as he began to picture in his mind where he wanted to land, he chose apparation as his next form of travel.

"Orochi and Hyakko said that some Gouyu meat would be appreciated," Kikai said, "Though I guess their meat does taste a lot better than regular pork."

"Fine, fine," Kurai said, "I'm leaving now."

#

In the early morning light the farmers were already working in their plots of farm land, busily, buzzing like bees. All of them were hard at work, men, women, and even some children, all were hard at work harvesting crops as it was that time of year for the kinds of crops that they were harvesting. It was a daily routine, without anything new in their schedules, nothing out of the ordinary ever happened, and that was the way they liked it.

But this morning had something different in store for the farmers. They had heard of some rumors of a large bird that did not resemble any kind of youma that they knew of, one that attacked farms, and stole crops, and only crops. The best of the batch was always the one that was taken. It cared not for meats, but the crops were its target. Then there were also stories of people that tried to defend their hard earned crops from the large bird, these people ended up needing some medical attention after facing off against the creature. It cared not for human life, only that it got what it wanted, which was the crops. One of the devastating things that the bird managed to do was, along with taking of the crops, it also took the seeds and materials that were needed for replanting. Those things that the farmers needed for the production of a new season of crops.

As some children played on the pathways that surrounded the fields, some of them notice a dot in the sky, one that grew larger every passing second. They watched as it grew ever larger, but when they saw that it started to resemble something, they tried to get the attention of the adults working in the fields. None of the adults paid them any mind, thinking that the children just wanted to show them something insignificant compared to their work, which was the source of their lives, from food to everything else. All of what they were doing was in order for the prolonged happiness and survival of their families, and village.

They adults should have looked up at the sky in the direction of the spot that the children had noticed. If they had they would have been able to mount some sort of defense against the thing that was quickly approaching their positions in the fields. It kept gaining speed, and in a matter of a few short minutes the thing was upon the farmers, its claws tearing into them, the children screamed, and the adults tried to attack the creature. But none of their attacks could pierce the beast's protective layer of feathers. Nor could the farmers harm the things that jumped off of the creature's back.

There were people accompanying the thing, people with jellatenous sacs on their back, all of which seemed to have some kind of hose attached to them, of which the attackers sprayed all the farmers, all those in and around the fields with some kind of sticky liquid, that hardened over such a short time. Eventually all the people were encased in the substance, and the bird was given some of the crops to eat.

The attackers, after making sure that all the villagers had been encased in the cocoon like things, placed them all in a net, one that once full was lifted up into the air by the large creature.

All that had happened was witnessed by Kurai who was hiding in a cloud, wanting to understand the situation before trying anything. There was a possibility of things more than they appeared, and indeed they were.

He had only believed that Ren was the best place for Fugen to roost, but after seeing what those men had done to the villagers, Kurai knew that someone or something with another piece was in Ren. Kurai was determined to find out who or what and where.

But before Kurai could leave his cloud hideaway, he noticed some kind of plants suddenly sprouting from the ground. Each of the plants slowly grew into small trees, each one bearing one fruit. At sundown, each of the fruits dropped to the ground, then they each bursted and revealed a person. Each of the fruits bore a clone, an exact duplicate of the villagers that had been cocoonified and taken away by the attackers.

That was proof enough that something else was going on in Ren, and Kurai was more than simply determined to find out what was going on.

But before leaving his cloud, Kurai decided that he needed to know the lay of the land, as well as possible locations where he may find Fugen, and whatever else was in Ren. He spread out his arms, and made ravens fly out of his sleeves, he had all of them become his extensive eyes and ears in Ren. With them the search for Fugen and whatever else there was would be easier.

Once all the ravens were in the skies, he dropped down to the ground, right at the entrance of the village, only to watch as the small trees withered, died, and were reabsorbed by the ground. In a moment of realization Kurai was able to figure out which other piece could be found in Ren, _Life_.

The being that held the piece of life was certainly some kind of plant mutation, or at least something that has taken the form of a plant, specifically a combination of Riboku, a tree that bore the ranka of people, Yaboku, a tree that bore the ranka of plants, animals, and youma, and Shashinboku, the tree that bears the ranka of Kirin. The problem of finding where the creature was was that Kurai did not know the extent of the reach of the creature. He needed to know the locations of all the places that the rumors had sprung up from, and the problem with that was that finding the source of a rumor was next to impossible.

That was where his extra eyes and ears came in, the ravens were tasked with not only finding possible locations for Fugen's roost, but also the villages that had lost some of their harvest, along with their people to the attacking bird and the men riding it and that had been replaced by plant people.

But he wouldn't overly rely on his extra eyes and ears as he still had his own set. He decided to go to the provincial capital of the province he was in, and see if they had any accounts or reports of attacks, like early attacks, and the like. He wanted to know if there were any places that had been attacked where no survivors were left. Then there was also the rumor he had heard about, the one involving people needing medical attention after a fight with the bird. The people of the village that he had been watching did not appear to need any medical assistance, they didn't even look like they, the clones, were going to report the incident at all. There was to be no more rumors from that point on, that much Kurai could tell from his observation alone.

As it was his first time in Ren, Kurai had the disadvantage of not knowing what the provincial capital looked like, and therefore could not use his usual means of travel to get there. He settled for walking, with the hope that he could find an actual person to ask direction from on his trek. There weren't all that many people traveling at this time of year, as many were still busy harvesting crops. It wasn't time to sell goods yet, so Kurai had to settle for asking children the direction of the provincial capital, as he did not want to bother the adults. He also did not want people to grow suspicious of him, or have any of them alert some soldiers of his presence. He did not want too much attention for the time being as he needed to find those two piece as soon as possible, with of course not that many people noticing him, or even remembering him.

Kurai had eventually had to ask an adult for directions as the children seemed to think that confusing him, and having him go round in circles was quite amusing. The adult that he had asked directions from, had told him exactly where to go without much fuss, as the man had probably felt sorry for Kurai. Who wouldn't feel sorry for a guy who was being used or bullied by children.

When it came to the time when he could finally see the provincial capital on the horizon, Kurai felt that something was wrong, he had a feeling that perhaps going to the provincil capital was not that good of an idea. So he brought out a raven to scout out the city for him, while he waited underground for it to get there, where he would see with its eyes, and hear with its ears.

It didn't take the raven that long to reach the city, as flying was a lot faster than walking or running even. It perched itself on the highest point in the whole place, from there it could see the whole of the city. Through its eyes, Kurai could not find anything suspicious. But as he believed that following his gut feel was the way to go, he created a clone of himself and sent it in his stead to the city, and he had the raven keep watch of the clone.

Upon entering the city, the clone was immediately accosted by the guards and forcibly led to the barracks of the city, where it was questioned repeatedly about the attacks that had happened in previous villages, the ones that had no survivors, and the one whose sirvivors were still under the care of doctors. Apparently someone connected to the attackers, probably one of them, had connections with the military and had reported him. He had also been conveniently from the direction of where an attack was to have taken place. It was revealed to the clone that the village where Kurai had gotten directions from had been attacked a day after he left it, the few survivors had reported that Kurai had been roaming around the area seemingly looking for something, and talking to the children, most of whom were not among the survivors. The bird had changed its modus operandi, from simply taking crops, to taking people as well. Based on the reports it was probably on Kurai's orders as well as he had interacted the most with children, finally setting his sights on an adult, one that had also gone missing, on the day before leaving the village.

The soldiers had tried to torture information out of Kurai, but as soon as they left the clone vanished, ceasing to exist, leaving Kurai with the impression that it would not be a good idea for him to get any closer to the provincial capital.

Kurai then had the raven continue to observe the barracks, and follow where the soldiers went after it was discovered that his clone was no longer in the interogation room that it had been left in. If the raven needed to split up, Kurai would simply pump some magic into it to make it literally split up to follow the multiple people heading in multiple directions.

Still hiding underground, Kurai watched through numerous eyes, as the soldiers reported to their superior, and as one soldier reported to a hooded individual in a dark corner about he escape of the person that they had been told to apprehend for questioning. Kurai had found the lead that he had been looking for and made to follow the individual, while at the same time continued to keep an eye on the commanding officer of the city guard as the man reported to the governor of the province.

Upon seeing the governor, Kurai knew that things were far more complex than they actually were, and he had not been totally prepared for the things that were happening around him in Ren.

The moment that the officer reported Kurai's description, he knew that the governor knew more than he let on, since Kurai saw a glimmer of recognition flash in the man's eyes. Kurai, then and there, knew that he would not be able to show his face in Ren while things were still chaotic, in the sense that there were two beings that held piece of a power that were not rightfully theirs in the first place to wield. These beings held an entire province hostage, and it was only a matter of time before the entire kingdom was theirs. It was something semi-new to Kurai, and he liked how things were going, while at the same time not liking how things were progressing.

After seeing with his raven's eyes the extent of the influence of the deviants of the world, Kurai had summoned that particular raven to himself using the shadows at the bird's feet, while he continued to follow the hooded individual. When the individual left the protective walls of the city, Kurai made his move, and intercepted the man, while he was on his way to some nearby trees. Kurai pounced on the man from out of a shadow, and brought the man with him into another one, which was where he began his own version of interogation, a method which simply required him to mind rape his victim.

From the man's memories, Kurai learned that the man had been tasked by one of his superiors into having Kurai apprehended. But the man did not know anything about the location of the hideout of the beings that Kurai sought, only the location where his superiors were located. The place was a day's walk away from provincial capital, it was a house located inside the first village that had ever been attacked by the bird. The villagers that had tried to scare away the large bird and that had been harmed were sent to the capital for treatment, their memories of the attack being too fuzzy for them to give accurate accounts of the events that led to their being confined in a hospital. The ones that remained in the village were all members of the group that was in charge of kidnapping people, from Ren, and every other place that they were ordered to.

After finding out a few more tidbits of information, Kurai ate the man's heart taking all the man's blood with it, the man's body was then transported to HQ, directly to the dens of the Kiki where it would be devoured leaving no traces of the body, not even bones.

Having found out what the village, that he was planning on going to, looked like, he pictured the place in his mind and proceeded to teleport himself there. Unluckily for him, or luckily for him, he landed just as the people there were about to leave on a kidnapping mission, complete with Fugen being there.

It was nighttime, as well as a nightmare.

They had apparently received reports of what had happened in Kyou, probably from not receiving any reports, requests, or any kind of communication from their base of operations there. Their immediate reponse was to have Fugen return to its roost, which was a really bad decision as that would lead Kurai to where the bird usually hung out.

The men did not know about Kurai's ravens, but they knew the meaning of stalling for time until help or other such things arrived. After getting Fugen flying out of harm's way, they swarmed around Kurai like hornets and proceeded to attempt to beat the shit out of him. Too bad they were not aiming to kill, Kurai knew that they weren't from taking a surface reading of their minds. They had received orders not to kill him, but instead take him in alive to be presented to their Lord in the future for their Lord to deal with personally.

Apparently the god that Kurai, and indirectly Tentei, were fighting had gotten annoyed enough with Kurai that he intended to personally annihilate Kurai and did not believe that any other was worthy of having such an honor. The Lord of the people that Kurai had found himself immersed in a battle against some how believed that since Kurai had a thing about taking as little lives as possible, which made him believe that having people attack him would be the best way to take him down.

'_I guess no one told Him about the massacre in Ryuu's Royal Palace_,' Kurai mentally mused, and smirked as he recalled the blood that he had consumed as if it were wine that day.

Kurai didn't bother taking out any of his blades and simply tore into his attackers with his bare hands, forcing his magic to make his nails longer, in a sense turning them into claws. As he barreled into his foes, slashing at them with his hands and claws, he also transformed his feet into the talons of his harpy form, and used those to render his opponents immobile.

Where as his opponents came at him with swords and spears, Kurai retaliated or simply attacked with other deadlier things. Slashing out hearts, tearing off limbs, snapping bones, and bashing in skulls. He took them all out so fast that the only thing they believed that had happened was that they had died by the hand of one of their comrades. There was an overwhelming feeling of betrayal as they lost their life, that was simply how fast Kurai could be when motivated enough.

They thought that they had him when in truth it was he who had them. They thought that they had trapped him, but in truth Kurai was the one that had trapped them. Sure he had been surprised to find them all there, but that didn't mean that he had completely let his guard down. Sure he was outnumbered more than fifty to one, but that didn't really matter as he had been able to bath in the blood of so much more dangerous things.

The massacre ended when the last of the deviants had been put down, not exactly killed, but as long as they could no longer move anything other than their faces, then they were considered as no longer important. But Kurai didn't simply leave them in that state to possibly be found by the authorities, he needed information, more information than the first mind that he had invaded had been able to provide him with. He needed their experiences with Fugen, which would help Kurai when he dealt with the creature.

As he didn't believe that he had the time to invade each and every one of their minds, he decided to use the shortcut method, which was to simply consume their blood and their brains. Simple enough, and he didn't mind the taste at all. Those that were still alive were made to watch as Kurai devoured one body after another, leaving nothing for even any acavenger to be able to find, not a single drop of blood had been wasted.

Kurai had magically silenced them as not to attract any unwanted attention, not that there was anyone left alive in the village at that time, but just to be on the safe side he had his victims die in silence, and a bit of insanity.

After having consumed all the living human beings in the village, Kurai walked into a shadow and reappeared out of the shadow of the raven he had follow Fugen. The raven had been staring at the mouth of a large cave high up in a mountain, the cave being the entrance to the lair of Fugen.

As Kurai melted out of the shadow, the raven had melted into Kurai's hair, slowly turning white from its black color, melting like ink in a much stronger bucket of white paint, but this kind of paint being unblemished by the insertion of black.

He approached the cave, all of his features seemingly human save for his eyes, which were slitted like a cat's with some extra features within which allowed him to see clearly in the dark.

As he entered the cave he switched his aura changing it from his usual green flamed Death Aura to a more subtle one. This one was filled with caution, it was dark as pitch, but not holding any sort of malevolence in it. It was an aura exuding extreme caution, allowing Kurai to be fully aware of his surrounding. He didn't want to be caught of guard, and in the event that he would be forced to defend himself from a surprise attack, his aura would shield him by merging him into the shadows, or simply turning him into a shadow. In the darkness or in the day, this Shadow Aura was one that would hardly be noticed unless Kurai decided to unleash its full potential, that being turning its offensive capabilities on, but as it presently was set on defend, it looked like a thin layer of black mist coating his person at all times, whisps and tiny tnedrils leaving at random intervals.

Within the lightless darkness of the cave, Kurai peered through it, his eyes may have been similar to those of a cat's but in no way did they shine in the darkness. He saw through the darkness, and tried to locate the large bird known as Fugen. While he searched for his latest prey, he looked through the memories pertaining to the experiences of the people that had been able to interact with the creature.

From those memories he had learned that at one point in time, Fugen was not a bird, but some other animal, one of the people that Kurai had consumed had witnessed Fugen trnasform from his former self to his present form. Fugen's past form was that of a Fu Dog, which are those guardian lion dogs found in important places in China. But that didn't tell him why the fu dog had wanted to gain the gift of flight.

From the memories it was shown that Fugen was one who was very loyal to his master, whoever it was and did not tolerate his master being insulted.

The memory that caught his attention was the part about Fugen being a former Fu Dog, a former lion dog, a Chinese guardian.

'_I'll find out about the flight part later, but what about its being a guardian...is it here to guard the other one..is the other one here in this mountain as well?_' was what had gone through Kurai's mind as he processed the information about the former fu dog.

Delving too deep into his mind and memories had caused Kurai to almost lose his head. Even though his aura allowed him perfect awareness of his surroundings that would not help him if he was not paying attention, or actively chose to focus on something else with his being, which was almost what he had done. Luckily he had instinctively dropped into a shadow avoiding the swipe made by a claw which would have separated his head from the rest of his body had he not reacted just in time.

From within the shadow he noticed that Fugen had found him, but Kurai didn't know how the creature had found him, he believed that he had covered all bases, but then realized that since Fugen was a former Fu Dog, he probably had a keen sense of smell, and Kurai had fogotten to protect himself against being found out by his distinct smell, not that he had BO, but he did have a scent that was his and his alone.

From within the shadow he sent a mental probe into the mind of the unsuspecting beast, and couldn't seem to understand a thing, so he shifted into his animagus form just to see if there would be a difference, and found that there was a difference.

The ability of flight that the former fu dog had gained was not voluntarily gained, but was part of a package deal, one which consisted of Fugen's master, his Lord, granting him the honor of protecting the _Tree of Life_ which was the being which held within it the _piece of life_.

Fugen used to a fu dog at a run down temple in China, back in the past, and had nearly been destroyed when the temple had entered a state of disrepair. One day, Fugen's master whose identity was still unknown, had visited the temple, upon noticing the disrepair, had gathered the nearly destroyed and single remaining fu dog, and told it that He would give it a new purpose if it would let him. Fugen did, and was loyal ever since.

A Fu Dog, as a guardian possessed many protective powers, but Fugen's master believed that those powers would not be enough when it came to guarding the _Tree of Life_, and therefore had given the _piece of flight_ to Fugen, in order for him to have access to a little bit more power. The former dog-lion was one hundred percent loyal by that time, and therefore there was no chance of betrayal.

Kurai knew at that moment that he would not be able to convert the former Fu Dog, as for all intents and purposes, the creature was of no use to him, and it was also considered as another form of Holy Beast, although in this instance it was not serving the Ruler of Heaven, but some rebellious deity.

It was time for the appearance of a real dog, a real mad dog, there was to be no mercy for this guard dog. Fugen could sense the approach of a mighty foe, but its belief in its master's cause as well as its master had led him to believe that he would not be beaten.

Too bad it didn't know that Kurai had more power than it had been given, Fugen had a confident air about him, but once he saw the figure rise out of the shadows, his resolve weakened, but he strove to face the threat head on, even though he was unaware of what manner of monster was creeping steadily out of the shadow, its body covered in a thick layer of shadowy tendrils that seemed to have lives all their own.

In times when Fugen was called to protect or defend something, no matter how large or small the threat, he would transform into some kind of chinese red griffin, it had the body of a Fu Dog, which is also refered to as Foo Lion, with the head and wings of a giant eagle, colored red of course.

But the red griffin would not have any choice but to fight something far larger than itself, power-wise, and size-wise, Kurai's form was larger and more powerful than Fugen. From out of the shadows arose a figure more sinister than any old skeleton zombie dragon. The arms, or front legs and paws came out first, razor sharp blades making up the claws, all curved in such a way that they looked to be made for tearing things to pieces. Aside from the claws, the muscles of the form were very defined, if something were slammed into the ground with the force such muscles could produce, it would be rendered broken. The forelegs, or arms, pushed against the ground around the shadow that it was coming out of, and brought out the rest of the body. It was just a body, no head yet, those were still shrouded in shadows. Kurai's body was that of a black dragon, and he had the wings of a giant raven. No legs were brought out as there would be no space for Kurai to stand if he had brought out his entire transformed body.

The last of his transformed state that he brought out was his head, or rather heads. From out of the darkness of the roof of the cave came three heads. The left one came out of the shadows first, it was the head of a raven, except it had three crimson eyes. Followed by the right head which was that of a dragon with piercing killing curse green eyes. The last head was that of Kurai's animagus form, complete with bleeding bladelike horn, his eyes were the stormy eyes of his left eye.

As his gaze landed on Fugen, he could visibly see how shaken the griffin had become at the sight of his new form. But when Kurai released some killing intent directed solely on the griffin, he could see the creature back up until it ran out of space to back up.

"_**Where is the one that holds the**_ Piece of Life _**?**_" three voices from three heads spoke simultaneously, Kurai expected an answer, any answer, and if it wasn't the one that he was looking for, then there would be blood.

"Why should I tell you?" Fugen asked, he had been granted the gift of speech by his master, while he was able to ask his own question his voice quivered and shook as he did.

"_**If you do not, it won't matter, as I'll find out anyway, if you don't tell me, then I shall tell your master that you had betrayed him, by telling me of his secrets**_," Kurai answered, it was just an answer to a question, an intimidation tactic that he hoped would work so that he could get on with getting the _piece of life _faster.

"I'd rather die than betray my master!" Fugen said, then launched himself at Kurai, forelegs at the ready to do some mad swiping action.

None of Fugen's hits managed to land on Kurai, as how could such things happen when one had no more front legs. Kurai had grabbed hold of the griffin with his clawed hands and ripped off the creature's attacking limbs. Leaving the thing looking like a regular bird, or as regular as a griffin with only two legs looked like.

Fugen then followed up with a blast of wind made by his flapping of his wings, the winds had formed mini tornadoes that whirled their way towards Kurai, who retaliated by sending his own winds to meet with the tornadoes, the attacks cancelling each other out, Kurai may have been able to completely overpower them, but he wanted to physically defeat the griffin.

The use of wind was natural, and Kurai had expected its use in such a battle, but what he didn't count on was a jet of flame to escape the griffin's beak. A flame so hot that it was able to melt part of the rocky floor beneath its path. The stream of flames made contact with Kurai's arms as he crossed them in front of his self to protect himself from the flames. In this form he would not be able to access any of his elemental abilities as he was only able to use what was available to him, which was brute force, and shadows. Fire would have been accessible had be had his Death Aura activated, but he didn't, he had his Shadow Aura activated.

When the stream of flames had ended, the griffin looked to be a little drained, and Kurai not wanting to be caught of guard had decided not to go easy on the half bird. He sunk his arms in the shadows, and had them appear behind Fugen, then grabbed hold of the creature's wings and yanked them off. But for some reason he had yet to see any blood gushing out of the griffin. While he on the other hand had some burns on his arms.

Before the griffin could think of doing anything else, Kurai grabbed hold of his remaining pair of limbs and tore them off as well. Which left Fugen with only a body and a head.

"Thank you for releasing my restraints," Fugen said as he floated in mid-air, "My master knew that you could read minds, and I know that you have read mine, so he made sure to protect my true power."

"_**And what pray would that be, you limbless beast**_?" Kurai's three heads asked.

"You are about to find out," Fugen said, and after he did, the whole cave began to rumble and quake.

A bright pale blue light exploded outward from Fugen's floating body. It was bright enough to force Kurai to shield his six eyes. When the light, and rumbling, died down, what stood before Kurai was Fugen, but in human form. He had pale blue hair, but wore red and black body armor over white flowing battle robes, and in each hand was a broadsword, no fancy decorations, but simply two broadswords. But Fugen was not alone as he was surrounded by a few dozen griffins, eagles, and small fu dogs.

'_Does he have more than one piece?!?_' Kurai couldn't help but thinking, since multiplication of beasts had nothing to do with flying.

"This is my true form, and these are my pets, created from the people that were taken from those villages that I attacked," Fugen said, then continued speaking after allowing a smirk to grace his lips, "Even my memories are false, a precaution that has paid off, my Master was right about you, He knew that's you'd take more than a peek."

Kurai recoiled at the information that he had been tricked, with his confidence crumbling he deactivated his Shadow Aura, as he didn't think that using such an offensively weak thing would be of much help in his current situation.

"You think I was not aware of your raven following me? Ha! Think again," Fugen said, "I knew from the very beginning, I even led it to this cave, but you'll be happy to know that he Tree of Life is near here, but not here in this mountain."

Fugen then crossed his swords infront of himself, then spoke again.

"I see you've realized the implications of the situation, and yes, I do have two pieces as that is how much faith my master has in me," Fugen said, reading Kurai's thoughts without having the ability to read minds, but simply by reading the look on Kurai's face, "Care to guess which one it is?"

"_The Ability to Harness The Darkness_," Kurai stated.

"What made you say that," Fugen wondered aloud.

"To harness the darkness one would have to have light, you have the blessing of the Heavens, whether or not you were a Fu Dog in a past life, you still have some little ones with you," Kurai explained, "You also have the king of birds at your beck and call, which can symbolize the ability to rule, and lastly you have those griffins, a balanced creation, half lion and half eagle, magestic and powerful beasts, but beasts nonetheless."

"That's why you claim that I have _that_? Interesting, you got it right, mostly, as even I do not know the reason why my master gave me this particular talent," Fugen said.

"Since your memories were all a lie, I guess I could let you swear loyalty to me," Kurai said arrogantly as he drew out his own pair of blades.

"Such arrogance you have, thinking that by saying such a thing, I will simply do as you say," Fugen said as he began to walk toward Kurai.

"I wasn't counting on that, though I'm sure by the end of our fight, you'll have no other alternative than to do so," Kurai said, "As I know what you want.."

"Y-you don't know what you are talking about," Fugen said, then ordered his minions to attack Kurai.

The griffins took to the air and dive bombed Kurai, while the eagles took off after them, followed by the dogs running on the ground. They all managed to land blows on Kurai which resulted in him not being able to do anything, but he did not let out a single cry of pain, with each bite, scratch, or any other thing the beasts did to him. He also never let go of his swords, even when his limbs were chewed off, and he was eventually only left with a head.

Fugen approached Kurai's fallen form when all the beasts had left and hid in the darkness, he kicked Kurai a few times just to check if he was still alive, but unlike Fugen, Kurai was bleeding all over the place.

"So how does dying feel?" Fugen asked Kurai.

"Dying? Who's dying?" Kurai said smirkingly.

"You are! You've lost all your limbs, and your bleeding all over the place!" Fugen shouted at him.

"Me? Die of blood loss? Clearly your master knows next to nothing about me," Kurai said, "But its not like I know that much about him, other than his being not of this world."

"H-how do you know that?" Fugen asked taken aback.

"How else would he be able to go against the Will of Heaven, if he were not of that plane," Kurai answered.

"..." Fugen could not think to say anything to that.

"Not going to say anything?" Kurai asked, "But you know..I know the other part of the reason why you have that second piece."

"W-what is it?" Fugen said wanting to know, as he believed that there was no way that Kurai was going to live much longer, he also did not believe that his master had been holding back information from him.

"Those creatures of yours, they're not all they appear to be," Kurai stated, "They're more than they appear to be, since they are able to merge with you, they must be made of something else."

"W-what do you mean?" Fugen demanded not understanding Kurai's words.

"He gave you the ability to harness the darkness," Kurai said, "No need to hide the fact that you used to be a real Fu Dog in your past life, the story about your temple was semi-true, the only false part was that he had been the one to cause the disrepair."

"How dare you say such a thing about my master!" Fugen shouted as he kicked Kurai around like a soccer ball, "My master would have never done such a thing!"

"You were a holy guardian, one that guarded the temple, but you were unable to protect it against another more powerful being than yourself. He told you that he could give you the power to overcome that handicap," Kurai stated, "You were eager, for all he asked in return was your loyalty."

"H-how did you know that?" Fugen asked curiously.

"That's what I would have done," Kurai said honestly, "Also to make you more powerful you would have to be able to conquer the darkness, fight fire with fire, he granted you _that_ ability, as well as the minions to use the power on."

"Y-you lie! I am of the light!" Fugen shouted again, kicking Kurai again for good measure.

"They are now melded with the darkness, you might as well sheathe your blades, they're useless here," Kurai said.

Fugen did as he was told as he too realized that holding onto them was pointless.

"You might want to get behind me as you no longer have the power to control the monsters of the dark," Kurai said.

"W-what do you mean?" Fugen asked, "What do you mean the monsters of the dark?"

"Your Master gave explicit orders to your former minions that should you show weakness and doubt in him, they were to take your power and kill you along with whom so ever it was that had planted such seeds," Kurai answered, then explained, "The _pieces of flight _and a_bility to harnessthe darkness_ were kept hidden in the darkness, they were hidden in your surbordinates, not in yourself as safeguards."

"S-safeguards?" Fugen did not appear to understand.

"It would be easier for your master to dispose of useless servants this way, as you have no real reason to dslike the world," Kurai stated, then said urgently, "Get behind me, fallen as I may look, I am the only one that can ensure your continued existence."

After Kurai said that, the darkness came alive, it was as if there were countless Toutetsu in the darkness, growling and slinking ever closer. Fugen could clearly see pearly whites shining in the darkness, he was also able to smell some kind of foul stench, like death, fill the air. While he was so preoccupied with the darkness he failed to see Kurai's body come back together. He also failed to see Kurai stand up, and prepare for a short battle.

Several pairs of eyes in the darkness were glowing red, but none of them could match the intensity of Kurai's bloodlust filled gaze. Once the darkness sprung into action, Kurai went to meet them, slashing with his two baldes, taking off heads, and not bothering with anything else. This time his foe bled, and what a sight all that blood was, the floor changed from a neutral color to one of blood.

Fugen was surprised when all of a sudden movement had burst into existence all over the cave, as well as splashes and splattering of blood could be seen everywhere. He then heard the distinct sounds of the dead and dying.

Sure he claimed that his minions were created out of those people that he had helped in kidnapping, but they were born out of man's darkness. He had thought that by taking out their darkness he had been purifying them, but apparently he had not been able to do that. Rather than discarding the darkness, what was discarded was the light.

But now the darkness had met something even darker, something that could swallow up even the darkness, and it came in the form of Kurai. He tore into the darkness like a hot knife through butter. Body parts of the creatures of the dark flew everywhere. Everywhere Fugen looked, there was a wing, or a leg, or a head, or pieces of a body.

"What gives them their life after death are the _pieces_," Fugen heard Kurai say in the darkness.

The darkness had surrounded Fugen on all sides without him knowing it, but seemed to stop their as if there was something stopping the dakrness from comsuming him. Kurai was defending him, but Fugen did not know how or why.

After what seemed like hours, but had only been a few minutes, the darkness receeded, and lost their malevolent feel, all that remained were dancing shadows, and Kurai standing in the middle of the cave, not a speck of blood could bee seen anywhere, there were no traces that a bloodbath had occurred there as well. There was only Kurai standing in the middle of a pool of shadows, his Shadow Aura once again activated.

"W-what did you...h-how did you...why..?" Fugen asked as he stumbled his way to Kurai.

"Wait here," Kurai told him, then began walking away, and deeper into the cave.

"W-wait.." Fugen called out when he realized that Kurai was simply leaving him there.

"What is it?" Kurai asked, turning around to face Fugen.

"What do you mean 'wait'?" Fugen asked him.

"Just wait for me here, I still need to get the _piece of life_ from that so called _Tree of Life_," Kurai said, then continued to walk away.

Kurai wasn't able to get that far as he was tackled to the ground by Fugen.

"What do you think you are doing?" Kurai growled out.

"Ah, ha..I'm sorry its just that..I don't think I can stand being alone right now.." Fugen said as he stood back up, getting off of Kurai in the process.

"Tch, fine, you can come along," Kurai said.

#

"He's been gone for some time now," Kikai said after sipping some tea.

He and the other human servants of Kurai were having a break from whatever work they had been doing, which wasn't much due to the war that was ravaging the land.

"Yeah..when do you think he'll return?" Eiko asked Kikai.

"Whenever he wants to, I guess," Kikai said.

"Aren't the two of you the least bit worried about him?" Aiko asked them.

"Not really," Kikai said.

"What he said," Eiko said.

"Why?" Aiko asked.

"He can go toe to toe with Tentei, what's there to worry about?" Kikai asked.

"Should we be worried about him?" Eiko asked the new arrival.

"I think so, cause of his next target and all," Aiko said.

"What is his next target anyway?" Kikai asked her.

"He went to Ren," Eiko said, "Kikai, you were the one to say so, to get the flying piece."

"Yeah, I did say that that was what he said," Kikai confirmed, "So what?"

"There's three pieces in Ren," Aiko said suddenly.

"T-Three?" Eiko said surprised.

"I just remembered now," Aiko said.

"What do you mean you just remembered now?" Kikai asked.

"I mean, before being assigned to Kyou, I overheard my former master talking to some guy with pale blue hair, some thing about protecting something in Ren," Aiko said, "I really didn't think it was all that important at the time, so I guess it just got buried in my memories."

"Great...so..I guess we'll be getting called over there soon," Kikai said.

"What makes you say that?" Aiko said.

"If there are three, then there's a possibility that that's where all the kidnapped people are, and he'll need some assistance in evacuation," Kikai said, recalling Kurai's first encounter with a _piece_ holder, namely with Eiko in neko-form.

"Ah, yeah..sorry about what I did that time Kikai," Eiko apologized after remembering the same thing.

"Forget about it Eiko," Kikai said.

"What happened?" Aiko asked, "I mean, since I'm new and all, I don't really know much."

"You mean you don't know who've got the other _pieces_?" Kikai asked.

"If I knew I'd have told master already," Aiko said, "Well?"

"I held the first piece," Eiko said, "And while fighting with the master, I bashed Kikai here into a wall."

"It hurt too," Kikai said.

"Oh," Aiko said.

"Well, its in the past now, nothing we can do about it," Kikai said.

"So all we're doing is waiting for his call?" Aiko asked.

"Pretty much, unless of course he doesn't call for us," Kikai said.

'_Stop sitting on your asses and get over to where I am right NOW!_' the three heard in their minds.

"Well, looks like he needs us now," Kikai said.

"I'll just get my first aid kit, never know what damage has been done to him this time," Eiko said.

"Do I need to bring anything?" Aiko asked, "I'm not much of a fighter."

"Doesn't matter," Kikai said, "He calls, we come, that's the way things work."

"I..understand," Aiko said.

*

"Fugen," Kurai said facing the young looking man behind him.

"Y-yes?" Fugen said as he stopped walking.

"Take one step to the left," Kurai said.

"S-sure," Fugen said, and did as he was told.

Not a second later, out of the spot that he had previously stood on, three figure arose, two women, and one man.

"Good, you're finally here," Kurai said, "Look after that kid," he then pointed at Fugen.

"If you say so," Kikai said.

Kurai then began walking away again, but said before vanishing into the darkness, "Now you've got company, wait there."

Once Kurai could no longer be seen in the distance, his three servants took to sitting on the ground near Fugen, who simply looked slightly confused at what had just happened.

"What just happened?" Fugen asked the three, "And who are you three?"

"You must have told him that you don't want to be left alone, and I'm Kikai by the way," Kikai said as he introduced himself.

"Fugen, nice to meet you, but how did you know that?" Fugen asked as he took a seat.

"I'm Eiko, and its probably the only logical thing that could have happened," Eiko said, "Oh, and I used to hold _power_, how about you?"

"Before you answer that, I know that you were protecting something, I'm Aiko by the way former holder of _Health,_" Aiko said.

"Err...I was given the ones to do with _flight_ and _ability to harness the darkness_," Fugen answered, "But with a few conditions that I was not aware of."

"So what were your reasons for becoming a deviant?" Aiko asked curiously.

"Ahh...He just gave me a purpose, and that was that I suppose," Fugen answered.

"Sounds like what I was offered by the master," Aiko said.

"Master?" Fugen asked.

"Master Kurai," Aiko said, then asked, "Aren't you one of us too?"

"Uhm..no.." Fugen said.

"I guess he hasn't bound you in servitude yet, huh?" Eiko wondered aloud.

"Uh..yeah.." Fugen said uncomfortably, then asked, "Why did you chose to serve him anyway?"

"Secret," all three responded, then laughed afterwards.

"So..if he asks, what will you say?" Kikai asked after a while.

"I guess...I'll join him..its not like I have anything to look forward to anymore, or such," Fugen said.

"Good answer," Kurai's voice joined the conversation.

"Gwah!" four voices shouted at once at the sudden interjection of Kurai's voice.

"You have magic," Kurai's voice said, "Swear on your life and magic, that you will serve me until I release you."

"Uh..." Fugen said.

"Kid, you said, you'd do it, so do it," Kikai said from the side.

"I swear on my life and on my magic to serve you until you have no more need of me," Fugen said.

"I accept," Kurai said, "Though even when I have no more need of you you shall remain, hehe."

"Master?" Aiko said catching Kurai's attention.

"Yes?" Kurai asked.

"Where are you?" she asked

"I'm nearing some kind of giant double doors, I'm speaking through the shadows," Kurai informed them.

*

After bypassing the double door's security, which was simply pushing one of the doors open. Kurai encountered the source of the pod people that he had seen in the village that he spied on when he arrived in Ren.

The central chamber of the place that Kurai guessed must have been deep under the mountain like most of the places that he found these beings in, was filled with just one plant, rather one giant tree, its roots and branches spread out around the place, filling it to the brim with nothing more than itself. There were some roots and branches that had pushed their way through walls, but Kurai supposed that that was how it had gotten such a far reach, and was able to produce its fruits in such places that were relatively far from the mountain which was several miles above the chamber.

The tree's leaves were of the healthiest of greens that Kurai had ever seen, but there was one thing that separated it from any tree that he had ever seen. At its base were the people that had been encased in what Kurai believed to be its sap, and through it the tree assimilated the trapped beings into itself. It was how this Tree of life gained the knowledge of how to create new life.

In the new world that the unnamed god was trying to build, this Tree of Life would be the one in charge of filling the world with all life, save perhaps for the few that had been turned to statues. The slumbering people of Tai were the already planted and soon to be blossoming seeds of the new world. Gyousou being the one that would rule the world, one where the Will of Heaven would not matter. But it would be a world in which Kurai would not be permitted to live in, and he couldn't have that, now could he.

It really was a ombination of the three trees that bore the fruit of life in Juuni Kokki. But even if he knew that, he still didn't know where the _piece of life _was being kept, where was it being stored. He dared not move from his spot, lest he be found by the tree. He didn't know if he could get any information from the tree, but he knew that the tree would not be something that he could recruit into becoming his servant.

But seeing as the tree wasn't doing anything at all, it wasn't even moving, Kurai decided to bring out some of his ravens and have them test out the tree's defenses if there were any. The reponse to the ravens was instantaneous, vines burst from all over the chamber and grabbed hold of all the ravens, suffocating them til there was nothing left but empty lifeless shells, all of which Kurai's shadows simply consumed and returned into Kurai's magic. There were defenses after all, ones that did not allow for anything that wasn't human to walk amongst the green. That or ravens of any kind were not welcome there.

Kurai was betting on the ravens.

As he didn't want to risk any of his servants, or have to use more magic on creating pointless things such as ravens, he simply did what anyone insane would do, he walked up to the tree, to it trunk, one which for some reason actually had a face on it. It had a mouth, and eye holes, but they had souless eyes, as if its only purpose was to create creatures in the pods that littered its many branches.

"Who are you?" the tree asked him as he approached the tree.

"Karasu no Kurai," Kurai answered.

"Ahh...the master warned me about the possibility of you finding me," the tree said.

"What do you have against the world?" Kurai asked.

"Nothing, I niether like, nor dislike the world," the tree stated, "I am merely a creation of the master's, He has assigned me the task of creating life for him."

"Who created you?" Kurai asked, hoping that he would finally know at least the name of his foe.

"My master created me," the tree simply answered, then said, "I am being cooperative since I know that you do not know where _that _is."

"What an insightful tree you are," Kurai praised it, then asked, "But that's not the reason why I'm here."

"Oh..then what is?" the tree asked.

"I'm here for the hanjyuu and people that were brought to Ren by Fugen," Kurai stated, then asked, "Do you know perhaps where they are?"

"The hanjyuu are here, resting in the pods, the people in my sap, and the rest are in hibernation, awaiting the brighter tomorrow as the master has stated," the tree informed him.

"I see," Kurai said, "If I were to take them away, what would happen."

"They would die, as they are all connected to me and to _that_," the tree stated, "But if you manage to find it and removing it, you will be able to take them without killing them."

"But you won't relinquish your hold on them without a fight, right?" Kurai asked rhetorically.

"Correct," the tree answered, then said, "Now shall we begin, or are you going to give up now that you know that beating me is impossible."

"Now that I know where they all are, I guess I'll just have to beat you," Kurai said, but before doing anything thought of another question, "But first answer me this. If I were to cut of a branch that held the pods holding the hanjyuu, or sever the vines attached to the sapped people, what would happen to them?"

"They would have only a few short minutes to live, why do you ask?" the tree inquired.

"Ah, good, now that I can work with," Kurai said, he then brought out his swords and prepared to do battle, "Whenever you are ready."

The tree didn't need to be told twice as it launched numerous branches and vines in Kurai's direction. Kurai weaved his way through them as he tried to located any of the pods or sap encased people. There were a few people at the base of the tree, near where he had been standing, but at the moment they were no longer there.

As he needed more eyes in the place, to help him in locating the people he was planning on rescuing, Kurai did the first thing that entered his head. He brought out hundreds of ravens, and as much as he was loathe to do it, he mixed in some crows as a just in case thing. It was a good thing he did too, though what happened was not what he had been expecting.

The tree thought that the smaller black birds were some kind of trick that Kurai had come up with, and it attacked the crows leaving the ravens alone, which gave Kurai's main mode of multi-tasking free reign to search as they pleased, until the crows ran out that is.

Kurai was used to possessing many bodies at once, but even with such habits it was still a pain in the brain to focus on multiple things while being hounded by branches and vines out to get him, and render him deader than dead.

It took a while, but one of the ravens eventually found some of the pods containing some hanjyuu, just as another found a stash of sap encased people. Through these two ravens Kurai saw how the tree was moving them all around, it wasn't that they were all moving around, it was that only a few of them were moving around, all the rest had either been assimilated into the tree, or were still in the process of it, and were being kept somewhere. Somewhere where Kurai was sure not to attack unless he knew where the _piece of life_ was being kept. They were all in the trunk itself, the trunk was not fully visible, as part of it was hidden in the wall behind what could be seen. The trunk was larger than it appeared to be, and it was inside the part that Kuai could not see that everything was being kept.

"I know where they are," Kurai told the tree as he prepared to actually enter the fray and stop dodging this way and that, "I also know where it is."

"You're bluffing," the tree said, confident that Kurai was just trying some weird intimidation tactic.

Instead of responding to the taunt with words, Kurai let loose, he exploded with power, he activated his Death Aura, and burned and slashed his way through the attacking vines and branches, leaving not one moving. He created some clones to check the areas around him just to make sure that there was no one that would unnescessarily die. But some of his clones found some that were just lying there, and they quickly went to work by cutting open the things, and were revlieved when they found the person inside still alive.

Kurai cleaved and cut his way through the foliage that was attacking him like a plague, but not matter how many the tree sent his way, he simply cut them up. The vines, branches, and what not were all like paper being cut by a nuclear warhead.

When he had finally reached the tree's trunk he did not cut it open as there was the possibility of injuring anyone trapped inside. Instead he thrust one hand through the organic matter, and took out what looked like a crystalized heart.

"Wha..how..?" the tree managed to stutter out, as it seemed to wilt by the second after the jewel had been removed.

"My ravens saw how you were moving them around, and the only place big enough to hide them all was inside your trunk, therefore, it was also the only place where the _piece_ was likely to be kept as well," Kurai explained.

"Hah! But I am still alive!" the tree said, then declared, "You haven't beaten me yet! I will take them all down with me!"

"Normally I would believe that you would be able to do such a thing," Kurai said, then snapped his fingers, then said, "But who said that they're still in you?"

"Wha..?" the tree said, then it seemed to check within itself somehow, then asked, "H-how..? They're no longer there?!?"

"Gotta love magic," Kurai said, then he made the green flames around him grow stronger, fueling it with some of his blood, as well as some more of his magic, he said his last words to the tree, "With life, there also is death, I hope you remember me when you get reincarnated."

With those parting words Kurai left the chamber, he did not care to look back as the tree was consumed by green colored flames. After closing shut the double doors to the chamber, the flames grew their hottest, then went out, leaving nothing but ashes, and a shattered crystal heart in the center of it all.

*

"So...I'm done here," Kurai said appearing out of nowhere near the group of four.

"Gyaah!" the four shouted as they heard his voice.

"No need to act all surprised about it," Kurai said, then took out the crystal that held Taiki's kirin power, he continued speaking, "Six down, three to go."

"Its turning black.." Kikai observed, then asked, "Why is that?"

"He's a black kirin, shouldn't the color match his coat?" Kurai said.

"I guess..very symbolic of you," Kikai said, then asked, "But what about the people?"

"I've got them stored in me," Kurai said, "Let's get out of here, as we still have some shopping to do."

"Yeah..about that," Eiko said, "I need some more stuff too...so.."

"Sure, sure, we'll get whatever it is, I'm in a good mood after all," Kurai said, then led the way to the outside world.


	21. Chapter 21

Disclaimer (1): This is a fan written work based on the works of J.K. Rowling. It might possibly also have some elements of a number of other works. There is no money being made from this, it is merely a work meant for the entertainment of myself and the masses. This is merely for fun, and no profit. I repeat: I am not making any money out of writing this.

Disclaimer (2): I also do not own anything that has to do with Juuni Kokki, Juuni Kokuki, Record of the Twelve Kingdoms, The Twelve Kingdoms. The only things that will probably be mine to claim are some of the names that will appear in the fic.

Warning: OCs OOCs Sues, and some crack. You have been warned.

Note 1: Post-DH Disclaimer (2) anime/novel Crossover

Legend: # denotes change of time, while * denotes change of scene/perception/POV/center of attention/small change in time

*****

*****

**CHANGE**

*****

**Chapter Twenty-One**

*****

*****

'I am the supreme ruler of Juuni Kokki, yet I am unable to feel even a spark of them...how could this happen?' Tentei thought as he scoured his world for the three remaining pieces of Taiki's power.

He had been actively searching for the pieces after he had been informed by one of his subordinates that Kurai had acquired six pieces.

The pieces of power, transformation, flight, health, and life had been located and acquired. They had all been stored into a crystalized representation of a kirin, of a black kirin to be precise, one which was always present within Kurai's multi-para-dimensional body in which he housed an inumerable number of things, from actual animals to the most pointless of things such as lint.

Three pieces were left, specifically beauty, which was a simpler way of saying eternal life or the practical immortality of the kirin, but in Taiki's case it was his youthful appearance at the time. Health was a state of being, while beauty was something else entirely. Then there was the piece of balance, balance in the sense of the ability to not only harness the darkness, but to also combine the darkness with the light, it was the power to find the neutral ground between both world, and was also in a way responsible for the kirin's ability to summon shoku. Lastly was what they had dubbed as The Sight, which was the ability of a kirin to see, feel, or simply sense the Ouki, which is the aura that surrounds a ruler. The Sight is the inert ability which a kirin possess which enables them to chose the rightful ruler of the kingdom which they are the kirin of.

Normally Tentei would not be blind to the activities of the world which he created and governed, but in recent human years his own sight has not been so far, and his knowledge of the running of the world has been somewhat limited, which led him to the conclusion that he was being undermined somehow.

But after consulting with the powers even higher than himself, not that anyone else aside from the Gods of the Crossworlds knew about their existence, he found out that their hands were tied as it was a conflict between two equally powerful beings, or some other such nonesense. Which in English means that they really didn't give a damn, but had left many different kinds of rules and laws to make people's lives difficult and worth living, dying, and fighting for. In that order some of the time.

'Why can't I sense anything..?' Tentei thought as he continued his frantic search of his world for even a spark, but no matter what he did he turned up with nothing, save for the crystal that Kurai had collected.

He was interrupted from his inner musings by the arrival of yet again another of his surbordinates.

"What do you want now?" Tentei asked irritably.

"T-There's a Toukou Kyonshi here to see you," the lower deity announced, then mumbled, "Please don't banish to some frozen place...please...please...please."

"Stop mumbling and let him in, or I will send you to a Hell that had frozen over," Tentei said, reeling in his irritability due to the coming presence of one who ruled the Crossworlds.

"Tracking down the three remaining pieces hard for you?" Kyonshi said as he entered the room in Heaven that Tentei had holed himself up in.

"Do you really need to ask me that?" Tentei said.

"No, but I love annoying people that are already irritable," Kyonshi answered, then asked a question of his own, "Have you considered the possibility that the only reason you were able to find the other pieces was because they were being actively used?"

"What?" Tentei asked, "I never would have thought of that, but what made you come to such a conclusion."

"Your opponent has been cultivating the world slowly, gathering resources for a world of his own," Kyonshi said, "And yes your opponent is a 'he', I'll confirm that as fact."

"So, the reason why I am unable to locate the three pieces is that they are not being used?" Tentei asked just to make sure he had understood right.

"Precisely," Kyonshi stated, "As for the location of the kirin that is no longer a kirin, well, simply put, he is no longer under your jurisdiction."

"You mean to tell me that one of my kirin is no longer in my world?" Tentei asked.

"Unfortunately," Kyonshi answered as he took a seat opposite from the God of the Twelve Kingdoms.

"Where is he then? Hourai?" Tentei asked.

"You immediately believe him to be in Japan, but not in any other land in the world beyond, why is that?" Kyonshi asked instead of answering Tentei.

"Most of my world's movers and shakers are from Hourai, the northern void and the mountains rarely ever produce such gifted individuals," Tentei said, refering to China, and possibly Mongolia.

"Let us not stagnate the conversation, and return to your question," Kyonshi said, then answered Tentei's original question, "He is in Hourai, though I wouldn't try scrying for him there, They wouldn't appreciate your intrusion."

"Can you do it for me then?" Tentei asked, then said, "I would prefer my world returning to its former calm."

"Return to its former calm? Impossible, especially with Kurai as Hou-o."

"I really don't care much for him anymore," Tentei stated, but then asked, "Can I have him do the searching?"

"After he finds the remaining three pieces, not before, he is after all our only avatar," Kyonshi said.

"I understand, but at the very least, could we have him send those servants of him to Hourai? To search for Taiki I mean," Tentei said.

"Ask him, but should he agree, be sure that you have a sample of the young man's blood," Kyonshi said as he stood from the chair, "It's a miracle how he's managed to survive this long...poisoning his body unintentionally as he has."

"Poisoning his body?" Tentei asked.

"Meat," was all Kyonshi said before taking his leave.

'Meat?' Tentei repeated in his mind wondering what the elder god had meant, but then spoke aloud when he realized the implications of such a thing, "Oh my god!" he then slapped a hand over his mouth hoping that no one heard him.

Unbeknownst to him someone had heard his exclamation of horror, and it wasn't someone that he could simply silence, or even influence. The walls may have ears, but what if the ears had more than simply that.

*

A few minutes later, Tentei transported himself into Kurai's study, where he found the man performing some scrying spells of his own, looking as if he was desperately seeking the three final pieces to the key of the kirin's memory.

Tentei first cleared his throat to grab the busy man's attetention.

"What do you want? Can't you see that I'm busy?" Kurai asked irritably.

"I already tried that," Tentei told him, "It hasn't worked all that well for me either."

"Oh," Kurai said, so he gave up and offered the god a chair.

"Thank you," the god said as he sat down.

"What are you here for then?" Kurai asked the god.

"Your teacher, Toukou Kyonshi, visited me earlier," Tentei said, "He informed me that Taiki is not in this world, but is in Hourai."

"I'm not going to go look for him, I hear Enki's been doing that," Kurai said.

"I...was not aware of that...in any case, I need you to have your servants look for him there," Tentei said.

"You got any blood?" Kurai asked from behind his desk as he took some stuff out of the drawers of his desk.

"I do," the god said as he placed a vial of it on the desk.

Kurai uncorked the vial and drank the contents, afterwhich he spat out a blood red crystal, and formed it into what looked like an incomplete key, wrote down some runes and other symbols on it and placed it in an envelope which he then sealed.

"I'll have Kikai and Eiko search for the kirin," Kurai said after preparing the tool which would help Kikai in his search.

"What did you do exactly, I seem to find myself unfamiliar with it," Tentei admitted.

"It's to track down the kirin, through the use of his blood, which I have solidified into a crystal," Kurai explained, "I'd tell you how it worked, but I know that you're not all that familiar with my brand of magic."

"You're right, I'm not," Tentei said, "But I'm still interested to know more or less how it'll work."

"Well basically its got a bunch of tracking seals and spells on it that will help in pinpointing the location of the people that more of less match the kirin's DNA," Kurai said, "It wont track down Taiki specifically, but everyone that's related to his DNA, his family to be exact."

"Parents, grandparents, siblings, and the like, I take it?" Tentei asked.

"Precisely, though I doubt he has kids," Kurai guessed.

"What would make you say that?" Tentei asked.

"He's sure to be a bit unbalanced, and there is also the possibility of his Shirei having gone wild, in a sense," Kurai said.

"Wild?" Tentei asked as he'd never encountered what had been happening under his nose the whole time.

"Shirei live off of the life energies and powers of a Kirin," Kurai explained, "But with Taiki things are complicated."

"Ah..I see your teachers have visited you as well," Tentei said.

"No, I made up some conclusions on my own," Kurai said, "Tell me if I'm wrong though."

"Alright," Tentei agreed.

"By being a regular human for some time now, he's probably consumed a lot of meat," Kurai stated.

"Correct assumption," the god remarked.

"Since regular kirin, not counting my animagus form, have an abhorance for death, blood, and the like, the meat that Taiki has been consuming has most likely sent the kirin part of him to a near death state, and in doing so has affected the mentalities of his shirei," Kurai concluded.

"Now that I think about it, that would be an accurate assumption of what might have been happening to him and his shirei," Tentei said as he scratched at his chin, pondering what else Kurai had cooked up.

"I'm pretty sure strange things have been happening around him, Kikai will probably have to find someone that has had some social problems..or whose close associates have disappeared or have had some bad things happen to them," Kurai continued with his hypothesis.

"Yes...so unless his maddened shirei have killed off his parents, then...I understand completely, and will give you full credit should anyone ask," Tentei said, somewhat sarcastically.

"Whatever," Kurai said dismissively, "As soon as you leave me alone, I'll send Kikai on his way."

"How do you propose to do that?" Tentei asked as he got up.

"Kikai can make shoku appear too," Kurai said as he led the god out the window, and onto a branch of the tree the house was made of.


	22. Chapter 22

Disclaimer (1): This is a fan written work based on the works of J.K. Rowling. It might possibly also have some elements of a number of other works. There is no money being made from this, it is merely a work meant for the entertainment of myself and the masses. This is merely for fun, and no profit. I repeat: I am not making any money out of writing this.

Disclaimer (2): I also do not own anything that has to do with Juuni Kokki, Juuni Kokuki, Record of the Twelve Kingdoms, The Twelve Kingdoms. The only things that will probably be mine to claim are some of the names that will appear in the fic.

Warning: OCs OOCs Sues, and some crack. You have been warned.

Note 1: Post-DH Disclaimer (2) anime/novel Crossover

Note 2: I don't really know when I'll update the others, but decided on updating this one…haven't a clue why though.

Legend: # denotes change of time, while * denotes change of scene/perception/POV/center of attention/small change in time

**CHANGE**

**Chapter Twenty-Two**

There weren't all that many people around, when Kikai and Eiko made their appearance from within a sudden storm popping up over one of the ports of Japan, they weren't spotted as they made their way to shore to begin the search for the missing Kirin. They had the compass that would potentially lead them to the blood of their target, they hoped that he still had living relatives in the world else their search would be even harder. There was also the Magical World which they had to avoid as much as possible.

They didn't need the additional eyes of the many Ministries of Magic to pry into affairs not of this world, or of their concern for that matter.

They were on a mission, a mission of Tentei, but more importantly a mission which had been assigned to them specifically by their master, Karasu no Kurai. They were to seek out this young man, and return him to where he belonged. They were to locate him that their master could make him whole again, before he finally went off in search of his own blood red coated kirin. Potters and their red heads indeed.

While there were so many things that could go wrong with their mission, Kikai was more than knowledgeable enough to survive in the world beyond the shoku from Tentei's world, beyond the borders, boundaries, barriers, and gates of Junni Kokki, of the Twelve Kingdoms. It was Eiko that would have some trouble adjusting to life in the 'modern' world.

She was glad that she had been assigned on the mission alongside Kikai, as they shared growing affections for one another, something which was quite uncommon among different kinds of youma, and in their case shirei. She was finally able to experience part of the world where Kikai had originally been off, the world where he had traveled its paths, which lead to his defeats at the hands of their, now, master, Kurai.

As soon as their feet touched dry land, they knew without a doubt that the only time that they would be able to have any contact whatsoever with the world which they called home, was when they had managed to divine the whereabouts of their target, of Taiki. They knew that the task ahead of them was a rather difficult one, but they also knew that their master was counting on them. As he too had set out to accomplish a task of his own, one which dealt with locating the final pieces that would complete the key to the memories of the past of the Tai Taiho.

It took them a day to settle into a kind of filled up routine, something which could be considered as daily life for most people. They found and rented a flat, a place to stay for the time being, and some part time jobs each, so as not to arouse any suspicion in case anyone deemed fit to check public records about them. They forged their records of course, but when it came to employment and living space, they needed something literally there, something real to deceive any prying eyes that would attempt to divine their secrets.

Kikai had got himself some a job as a janitor at Tokyo University; he had a feeling that their target would be found most likely in that place. A person with potentially no real family save for parents would possibly live a life without a life, as a professor at a certain Philippine university told his students one day.

Eiko on the other hand had chosen to be a lunch lady at hospital cafeteria near where they both stayed. She was the main healer of their group anyway, so she didn't want to have to be too far from her chosen role and profession, well as professional as a field medic in a place where mysticism and the sword ruled, as much as philosophy and politics. There was also the possibility that their target might appear in the hospital for some reason. It was also due to the compass that they had received that they had chosen where to live, and where to hang out for part of the day. They were two places which were in the vicinity or places where he did indeed frequent. It was only a matter of time before they finally encountered him and confirmed that he was indeed their target. They just hoped that they wouldn't have to battle with some deranged shirei that would not go over well with the local authorities, magical and muggle.

They really were unable to get any more information on their target other than his general area. They didn't even have a name, as anyone that would know his name was either no longer of the lands of the Twelve Kingdoms, also known as dead, or somewhere in Hourai and going feral. There were the odd reports that of fatal accidents, but nothing that they got their hands on pointed to anyone in particular. There were only listings of death, and they doubted that it would be a good idea to break into the police archives just to read up on who were the witnesses to such tragic events.

They didn't know whether or not they had a time limit, all they knew was that they had better find their target sooner rather than later, as they were aware of the plot in the Twelve Kingdoms, one which would surely wreck the world, and make it over from scratch based on the whims of their still somewhat unknown foe.

#

His chosen one, his avatar in the realm of the mortals had done splendidly for a time. Spurring the coup d'etat that littered the Kingdom of Tai had been a good idea, it brought constant chaos and strife to the land, allowing for his own creations, well not really his own, but the creatures under his responsibility and jurisdiction to populate the land and flourish.

Pestilence, plague, sickness, death, killing, crimes, corruption filled the land, the court, and all units in society. There wasn't a single being left unaffected by his servant's actions along the path headed towards their goal of remaking the world.

A world where instead of Tentei ruling and governing, but he, he the one that received more prayers requesting aid from all the problems that befell them, the most requests being protection from the monsters that roamed the lands when times got tough. He intervened in not so obvious ways, unlike Tentei that simply sat by his viewing pool and watched the progress of the world, and acted indirectly through his Kirin creations, and those he deemed worthy of making the world a better place to live in for a time.

After several thousand years, he had grown quite bored with the way that the world had gone by, time in the world of the Twelve Kingdoms was sometimes faster or slower than time in the world of Hourai, it was rather confusing even for one such as he, a member of one of the highest councils in all of existence.

While he would still grovel in the presence of one of _those five_, he knew after all when showing defiance was not worth the eternity of torment, he still yearned for what he perceived as being his rightful station, station which his fellow did not deserve, since he was so irresponsible and uncaring. What was one small sacrifice in the greater scheme of things, when the end result of the little ploy would produce such amazing results, results which the future peoples of the world would rejoice in having.

But ever since that anomalous entity arrived within his sphere of influence things had not been going according to plan. He and his servant were forced into accelerating their plans, moving them forward ahead of time, even though they weren't all that prepared for every eventuality yet. This new anomaly, this King of Hou, this Karasu no Kurai was a thorn in his side, was a plague upon his plans, was the bane of Tentei even, as he had overheard on occasion how much Tentei himself despised this one demigod in power and ability.

Kurai had already foiled several aspects of his grand plans, he had already sabotaged some shortcuts to the future of the world. He had taken for himself portions of the kirin's elements that were important to his plans.

The kirin of Tai was of immeasurable strength, his powers, aspects, or parts, were necessary shortcuts to what he, the master of Asen, had planned. The kirin was a conduit, his aspects were the bridges to a greater future, while more than half the pieces had been taken possession by this anomaly that would and could go against the Will or Mandate of Heaven, that did not mean that all was lost.

It simply meant that plans would have to be advanced, and hard work would have to be employed. There was also the part where he himself would have to face off against Tentei. He couldn't simply have his servant do all the work, for where would the sense of satisfaction be, when he himself was not the one to finally end the long reign of the Supreme Ruler, the Supreme Being of the existence that was Tentei.

When he had learned that Tentei knew of the plot, of the ploy, and planned on returning or reviving the missing Tai-o and Taiho, he knew that he had little time left to act, lest he wait for the next black kirin to make an appearance, which was likely to take an eternity once again of wait, and that next time, Tentei would be ready for him, even though the supreme god knew not of his identity, but merely suspected the possibilities of it.

He needed to move and quickly, as one of the things that could truly stop his plan in its tracks was the successful retrieval of the Taiho Taiki. He thought that he could rid Tentei of Taiki by allowing the young kirin to escape death through a shoku into Hourai, where his shirei would eventually go mad, and he would be driven over the edge as well, or put out of his misery, or be placed in a state of mind that he would be unable to do anything, would be unable to serve the Will of Heaven.

Gyousou was placed in his death like slumber, as he had been chosen to rule the new world, while being advised by Asen who had no plans or ambitions of going that high up in the court, but an advisorial role in the running of things would be enough for him. It would be ruling from the shadows, thinking up things, while having another man do all the work for him.

The Tai-o would of course also have to undergo some form of brainwashing when the new world order was established. When the world was remade entirely, not from scratch, but from the ashes of the present world that Tentei still reigned over.

He knew what his obstacles were, there was first and foremost, Karasu no Kurai whose efforts in gaining the pieces of Taiki's kirin side were causing him to spend more time and power on the things that the pieces were used as shortcuts for. There were also the other rulers of Junni Kokki and their formidable armies and the warriors with the ability to end the lives of youma, his youma. Finally there was Tentei himself.

It was too bad that he was not at all aware of the fact that Kurai was a student in a way of _those five_ or two of them for that matter. Had he known he might have probably chosen to give up his foolish and ambitious quest for world domination.

But since he didn't know that he decided that it was time to retake the land of Tai, by force seeing as things were getting better over there, there was also the status of the exiled and amnesiatic Taiki, as well as the hiding places of the remaining pieces. He needed to take care of all of that, and so he exerted his power on all that was his, to do his bidding, and officially begin the conquering stage of his plans.

He just hoped that Tentei continued to be focused on the things that made it possible for he, Koutei, to run amok for the world that Tentei supposedly ruled.


	23. Chapter 23

Disclaimer (1): This is a fan written work based on the works of J.K. Rowling. It might possibly also have some elements of a number of other works. There is no money being made from this, it is merely a work meant for the entertainment of myself and the masses. This is merely for fun, and no profit. I repeat: I am not making any money out of writing this.

Disclaimer (2): I also do not own anything that has to do with Juuni Kokki, Juuni Kokuki, Record of the Twelve Kingdoms, The Twelve Kingdoms. The only things that will probably be mine to claim are some of the names that will appear in the fic.

Warning: OCs OOCs Sues, and some crack. You have been warned.

Note 1: Post-DH Disclaimer (2) anime/novel Crossover

Legend: # denotes change of time, while * denotes change of scene/perception/POV/center of attention/small change in time

**CHANGE**

**Chapter Twenty-Three**

He was in the world, making things better for peoples that were not his own, two kingdoms benefitted from his presence in the world. He was also charged with the mission, or he had volunteered, of saving the world. It was not simply one kingdom now; it was all twelve of them, and the position of Supreme Being in Tentei's case.

The remaining pieces of Taiki's Kirin self, were still within the bounds of the World of the Twelve Kingdoms, finding them was the only problem. Time was running out, Kurai knew that much, he knew that there must be some sort of deadline, some beginning of the end. He simply needed to find the three remaining pieces, and merge them back with Taiki before that time. Awaken the Tai-o, and stop whatever god, monster, or man, that was behind it all.

He could guess at the name, there were so few gods in his new world that would have a reason to overthrow the present monarchy. There were so few problems that plagued the land, one such problem were the monsters, the one that hunt and kill, and ravage, and the like, there was also the sicknesses, the diseases, the weakening of the strong. Poor harvest could also be viewed as one of these plagues. Basically anything that the people feared to happen, or did happen once a ruler fell from grace or died for that matter.

At the top of his list was Koutei, the god that people asked for protection against youma. He could possibly be unhappy with his lot, or the fact that he was charged with protecting the people from his own creatures. There was also Gyoutei; his beef with Tentei could be that his hardwork had a tendency to be denied existence when bad things began to happen to a kingdom. Growing things or watching them simply die or become useless could grow to be tiring. Also on the list was Utei, to name a few of them, he was the god of water, the one that people prayed to for help when there was a lack of water or when there was an overabundance of it.

Out of all the gods that Kurai suspected, the one at the top of the list was the one that he figured had the most sense of dissatisfaction, as well as pride and arrogance. He was sure to have the most pride in that he was the one that people called on for help when facing the mightiest and deadliest of foes, the youma. It was no Tentei the people called out to, but to Koutei.

Due to not having any proof of his possible claim, he could not simply inform Tentei of such a suspicion, so he decided to concentrate on the short term problem at hand, which was the location of the three remaining pieces of power. There was also the part about uncovering the truth behind the disappearance of the Tai-o and the Tai Taiho.

Kurai was not the only one in search of the missing kirin, since he had informed the other leaders of the discovery of the whereabouts of the missing Tai-o, there were others such as the King of En and the Queen of Kei. Gyoubou was also helping in the search, sending out spies to the four corners of their world, but Kurai doubted that they would find something if his own Karasu could not find anything of note.

Time passed them by, days, turning into weeks in the world of the Twelve Kingdoms. Kurai didn't really know much time he had left to save the world, all he knew was that time had grown short, and that Tentei had decided to help in the only way that he, even as a god, was permitted to do. Tentei allowed for time to move faster in his world as compared to Hourai, where Kikai and Eiko were searching for the Kirin.

Kurai was not seen in any of the lands during his time of searching, not one of his personal contacts in the lands had seen hide nor hair of him, the only sign that he was still alive and searching were the occasional ravens seen flying overhead. While the greater populace of the world viewed such birds as bearers of bad news or omens, the rulers and most of the upper echelons of the kingdoms knew what they really were: The eyes and ears of Karasu no Kurai.

Nothing was happening in the world, there was no new news to spread by word of mouth, no sudden appearances of shoku, no overwhelming numbers of youma had been reported, no crazy immortals running amok in the land of mortals. Nothing out of the ordinary happened during the time of Kurai's seeming absence. That put some people on edge.

One such person was Asen, the chosen avatar of Koutei, he knew that his master had grand plans for the world, as well as knew that there was a mobilization effort somewhere in the vast ocean that encircled the world. Koutei was planning on invading Tai, retaking it from the grasp of peace. Asen was bothered by the tranquility or equilibrium of the world, there was something obviously wrong with the world if there was nothing of note in the gossip of the world.

With his master rushing his plans, Asen believed that the pieces of kirin power were no longer needed, and thus dispatched the holders of the remaining pieces; they would no longer be needed to hold the pieces or protect them for that matter. They were no longer necessary for the fulfillment of the plan.

Yet he was still troubled, even as his master gathered a divine army of youma, a force to be reckoned with somewhere out over the seas, one that would surely bring the world to its knees, and force Tentei to break _those_ rules, and intervene, finally abdicating his own throne as the Supreme Being of Junni Kokki.

It was through his belief in his master that he did the things that he did, but it was also due to his fear of many possibilities, or simply his fear in general, that he managed to stumbled upon one that he never wanted to meet with in his life time, or simply while the world was still run and ruled by Tentei. He found himself, alone in a room in a brothel in the capital of the Kingdom of Han with none other than Kurai. The two men had apparently misheard some directions and found themselves in the company of the other.

What made things worse for the avatar of Koutei was that Kurai was a little bit peeved that he had entered the wrong room, as well as the thought that the proprietor of the establishment thought him to bat for the same team. Which lead to his slamming a mental probe into the other man's mind, and divined all of his secrets, three of which were the locations of the remaining pieces of the kirin's power.

"Who do you work for?" Kurai demanded as he held Asen by the neck against the wall, his mind probe being unable to breach the barrier which kept a lot of the other secrets safe from prying minds. It was a precaution against Tentei, or one of the lesser gods decided to delve into the mind of Koutei's avatar.

"I…" Asen began to say but stopped himself, it would not do to betray his master and not receive the rewards which he had been promised, instead of continuing his sentence, he merely spat in Kurai's face, a grave insult, and a life threatening one, if Kurai ever received one.

"Tell me," Kurai demanded, his grip tightening on the man's neck, the tip of his horn beginning to break through the skin of his forehead, he was close, he was finally close.

Kurai had received a tip in the form of gossip that he would be able to gain some information at this particular brothel. Any information was good enough for him, but he didn't think he would be lucky enough to catch the fish which he held in his grip. The only problem he saw with his catch was that it was refusing to answer. While admirable that the man would not betray his master, it really annoyed Kurai to no end. Why could things never be easy, he was equal to a demigod was he not, so why could one measly man's mind be so tough to crack, it was like the spell that kept Gyousou locked in his eternal-like slumber.

Another wad of spit met his demand, it was not something which he enjoyed, he felt even more frustrated, and decided that if the barrier could not be shattered, then he might as well do something else to the man to have him divulge his secrets, at least the ones that he could divulge even when a massive amount of force was used.

"Imperio," Kurai intoned as he locked eyes with the man, and forcing on him the same will that he imposed on those that became his ever loyal servants, "_Spill your secrets to me, tell me everything you know of the disappearance of Taiki, Gyousou, the strife experienced by Tai, and the coming battle for the world._"

Asen didn't really have that strong a mind or will, he was rather weak willed which was why he had relied on the protection his master had bestowed upon him, one that merely circumvented the Will of Heaven, and not blocked it out entirely. He had also employed servants of his own to do his bidding, which mostly dealt with the protection of the pieces of kirin power, as well as the shortcuts that his master wanted to take concerning the rebirth of the world of the Twelve Kingdoms.

He was instantly overpowered by Kurai's massive force of will, and spilled the beans, telling Kurai everything he knew that he could say without betraying his master entirely. He informed Kurai of the impending doom that lay before Tai, that a grandiose army was being mobilized as they spoke, and would soon march upon Tai, retaking it, re-placing it back into the clutches of doom and despair. There were other things, smaller things, like how once Tai fell again, the rest of the world would soon follow.

With that final threat, Asen was relieved of his burden of life, and sent off to the next great adventure, minus the ability to be reborn into the world of his birth. He was an old soul and had been working for his master for centuries and countless reincarnations. He had been toppling Monarchs for that long a time, and it was only with Gyousou that he had managed what his master had wished to happen.

But now he was without a way to return to the world of his birth, to the world of the formation of his very soul, an existence which was gifted to him, not by his master, but by Tentei. He was once one of the sages, an advisor to one of the first rulers in all the twelve kingdoms, and he had been the cause for the failing of that first king. His role in the scheme of things of his master had finally ended, Kurai had seen to that, as well as his soul's restarting from the form of a worm in the core world of Crius Crossworld.

Kurai learned much from the man's rambling off of information, such as how Taiki's power had been stolen from him. The kirin's horn held most of its power, or all of its power, as well as was the medium by which it used its power. Kurai couldn't help but think of a wand at that moment, the horn was similar to a wand as it channeled magic, and made casting easier, but unlike the horn, a wand was merely a conduit and not a container.

This realization lead him to a new theory as to how he would be handing back the Tai Taiho's power back to its rightful owner, though he did hope that the kirin didn't go insane due to what was required of his plan. With a plan in mind, and the warning of an approaching invasion force, Kurai left the brothel, as well as the dead body of his temporary foe, a foe whom he did not know the entire history of, should he have known, the man's soul would not have been let off so lightly.

He had three pieces remaining to collect, and one of them just so happened to be within the city that he was in himself. The problem was that he wanted to keep the atmosphere or the world as it was, and thus couldn't think of a way to get himself into the residential palace located in the capital of Han itself. There was also Go Ranjou and Hanrin that he would need to deal with, without revealing who and what he was. They didn't know that what he needed to steal was actually left in the residential palace by Asen as a precaution in case his master would need it later on. It looked like he would be using all the magic tricks he could think of to get in and not get caught.

He knew from the memories of Asen that the Han-o and his kirin, looked to be in their mid to late thirties. He also knew how much En-o disliked the ruler for his narcissistic tendencies, as well as how Enki and Hanrin didn't get along, the woman's personality clashing a little with Enki's own.

Kurai had also found out that Ranjou was a bit effeminate in the looks department, but had a thing about being rather eccentric, not only with his narcissistic tendencies, but also with his inquisitiveness, or his borderline mad scientist tendencies. Hanrin on the other hand, while flippant, was rather sarcastic, and had a thing about insulting her master behind his back, or simply making fun of him.

Ranjou had long black hair, and wore a pair of eye glasses that was more for show than for necessity. While Hanrin had brilliant blonde hair, snow white skin, and was simply breathtaking, but her personality left a lot to be desired.

It was time to go for a new identity, Kasumi would not be a good idea to use since Gyoubou knew of her as being someone in contact with Kurai. So he forged a new identity, one that he would use to infiltrate the palace. It wasn't crafty or anything of the sort, but it was the best he could think of. He transformed into the form of a child, a ten year old boy, dressed in rags, an uncommon sight in such a prosperous kingdom.

He sported dark brown hair, had an oval face, dark brown eyes, tanned skin, but kept his vampire like oral cavity intact. With Kasumi he had beauty, but with this child form, he needed something that would still allow him to stand out in a way. He chose to name himself Fuka.

In such a form, he wandered the streets and acting like a street urchin, begging for money or for food. It was a bit pathetic, but there were many that failed to pay him any mind, thinking nothing of him as they went about their daily routines. It was only when Hanrin, who in disguise, spotted him that people began to notice the anomaly in the prosperous country. His presence was like an omen of sorts for Hanrin.

She had only decided to venture into the capital to scout out the wares of the merchants and artisans that lived in the city, when she spotted Fuka resting against a wall. He was so out of place that she was surprised that no one had noticed him until she had. Once she walked up to him, it was only then that people noticed him, him along with the beautiful woman that approached him, as well as the saikyo, a bull-type youma with red horns and resembled a water buffalo a little, that was bearing down on the duo from the sky.

Many citizens feared the worst as they ran for cover, hoping that the youma would not come after them. They cared little for the wellbeing of the other people in the place aside from themselves. If Shoryuu or Fuukan had been there he would have felt a sense of de ja vu, having helped Youko from one once in the past.

Fuka himself hadn't really planned on what would happen, he only planned on using his small form to eventually sneak his way into the palace. But the arrival of the saikyo was not unwelcome, he just hoped that something would happen to save his ass, as well as the kirin he knew that walked up to him.

His compressed form, also compressed his power somewhat, hiding who he really was by a large margin, he doubted that Tentei could spot him now. While he compressed his power, he also unknowingly unleashed some kind of pheromone of sorts that attracted wild youma in the area. Sure wild youma were supposed to be nonexistent in a peaceful kingdom, but that was only because no one lived to tell the tale of sighting a wild youma in a peaceful kingdom.

So it was the sight of a saikyo attacking a panic stricken looking Hanrin and a fearful looking Fuka, that Ranjou arrived slicing the youma in two with his voulge.

With the danger over, and the city soldiers cleaning up the mess and reassuring the citizens of their safety, Ranjou walked up to his kirin, and pulled her to her feet, as looked upon Fuka as well.

"What happened?" he asked, he looked ever the part of a king in his vestments, his hair was styled, and he had some makeup on as well. Not a single thing on him looked out of place even after dispatching a youma.

"I was out minding my own business when I suddenly spotted this child," she motions for Fuka, "I found him anomalous, and decided to confront him, when the next thing I know that youma descends from the sky in a mad dash for either myself or the child."

"We'll take him with us to the palace then," Ranjou said, "I don't want to have to worry about a repeat of this incident to happen again, when I could have prevented it."

"Its your call," she said, and stalked off to continue whatever it was that she had planned to do for the day.

"You shall be coming with me, as I need to assess how much of a danger you pose to my people," Ranjou informed Fuka, "Now, before we leave, what is your name?"

"F-F-Fuka, your majesty," he replied, holding back the look of mischief that wanted to escape through his eyes.


	24. Chapter 24

Disclaimer (1): This is a fan written work based on the works of J.K. Rowling. It might possibly also have some elements of a number of other works. There is no money being made from this, it is merely a work meant for the entertainment of myself and the masses. This is merely for fun, and no profit. I repeat: I am not making any money out of writing this.

Disclaimer (2): I also do not own anything that has to do with Juuni Kokki, Juuni Kokuki, Record of the Twelve Kingdoms, The Twelve Kingdoms. The only things that will probably be mine to claim are some of the names that will appear in the fic.

Warning: OCs OOCs Sues, and some crack. You have been warned.

Note 1: Post-DH Disclaimer (2) anime/novel Crossover

Legend: # denotes change of time, while "*" denotes change of scene/perception/POV/center of attention/small change in time

**CHANGE**

**Chapter Twenty-Four**

He rode with a soldier on a tenba kijuu, which was a tamed dog with wings youjuu, the king didn't want to risk something happening to him on the journey to the palace. Ranjou suspected that he was the reason why a youma had appeared in the middle of his fair city, he was curious as he wanted to know the reason for the attack for the youma was clearly one of the few wild ones that could be found in his realm, while it was unheard of it was not impossible.

When they reached the palace Fuka was led to the kitchen to get him something to eat as he looked famished, and since he had been begging and not been noticed, he must really have been hungry, which showed once he was told that he could eat as much as he wanted to, but he had to answer some questions once he was done with his meal. The kitchen staff had never seen a child eat so much in one sitting, and so fast too.

It was another side effect of compressing his power, something needed to fill in the void that the compressed power had left behind. The way he ate, as well as the quantity, suggested that he hadn't eaten in years, or that he was some kind of insatiable youma. But for a wild youma to hunt him down in a prosperous city that latter theory didn't hold much water.

He ate well into the night, and since he had been told to eat as much as he wanted to, Ranjou was forced to leave him to his eating, watching him devour plate after plate in quick succession didn't really sit well with the ruler's stomach, or with the kirin either. The kitchen staff eventually had to rest themselves, while immortal as sages, they still needed rest. But one of their number volunteered to stay behind and watch the boy.

She looked to be around twenty years old, fair skinned, had a round to oval face, black hair, and red eyes, not exactly crimson, but red. She wore the garb of a lowly cleaning lady, one of those people seen but not heard. She introduced herself as Kousui one of the young cleaning ladies in the palace, and since he wasn't going anywhere, and she hadn't had the chance to talk to anyone for a while, the other girls finding her a bit strange since part of her memory was a bit fuzzy at times, she decided to tell the boy a little bit about herself, like how she had been working at the palace for the past ten years.

"So you know everything about this place?" Fuka asked her between plates.

"Well, mostly just what room is which, and where something belongs," she replied, "I have to know these things to clean properly."

"Oh," he said, "That's cool, I have this friend, he told me that there's this yellow glass looking ball in the palace that when touched by a girl shines like the sun. Is that true?"

"Huh? I've seen many yellow balls, but none that acts the way you describe," she said, "Who's your friend by the way? Why'd he leave you to beg on the streets?"

"Oh," Fuka said, "I met him a month or so ago, he was looking for something, I stayed with him for a while, but he had to leave to look for that something."

"Why didn't you go with him?" she asked him.

"Well, I wanted to see if he was telling the truth," he said, "About the ball I mean."

"Well, when I'm back on duty, I can look for it if you want," she said, "You're nice…like this one boy I met a long time ago. Say, what do you want to be when you grow up?"

"Hmm…" he said and stopped eating for a bit to think about it, he felt so relaxed in her presence, and it wasn't the simple fact that he was in a child's body and she was not suspicious of him, her very presence managed to kind of calm him down somewhat, "I wanna save the world!"

It was the only thing that came to mind, since that was basically what he had always been doing, then a memory of himself, a much younger, a much much younger, probably about ten years old. It was of him pushing a younger girl behind some bushes, and defending her by distracting his cousin and his friends from bullying her or something like that. He played the part of distraction, and was left alone when he didn't scream of shout as his cousin and his gang beat him up, while the girl simply hid in the bushes behind him.

"_Why'd you do that?" she asked him then, she was a cute red head, and now that he thought about it, she had rubies for eyes, she helped him to a public restroom to clean up._

"_I don't wanna see anyone else hurt if I can help it," he said at the time._

"_Why? You want to be some sort of hero?" she asked him._

"_Maybe," he replied before an 'ouch' escaped his lips, "I wanna save the world, one person at a time, then when I'm really good at doing that, I'll save the world."_

"_Well, you saved me from the bullies, so thanks," she said, then kissed his cheek, blushing a little since girls matured faster than guys, but Harry wasn't a normal ten year old to begin with, and blushed as well. It was more a subconscious thing though._

"_Y-your welcome," she said shyly._

_That was the first and last time he saw the girl, a girl which he didn't know the name of._

'_Why am I remembering that now?_' he wondered to himself.

"So…are you going to finish your food, or are you ready for bed?" Kousui asked.

"I…" his stomach roared loud enough to wake Ranjou who came running upon waking from the roar, "Guess, I'm still hungry," and so delved back into eating, which was the sight that greeted Ranjou as he entered the kitchen voulge in hand, and ready for battle.

"What in the world was that roar?" he asked Kousui, who still looked a bit stunned due to the roar, and not growl.

"I…I asked if he was still hungry or ready for bed," she said, "Then his stomach roared…your majesty."

Once morning finally dawned, and the sun's rays brightened up the land, Ranjou found Fuka running around one of the gardens screaming his head off as a number of kochou flew after him intent on devouring him. It really did confirm Ranjou's concerns about the boy, that there was definitely something that the boy was hiding since the youma were hunting him.

"Do you mind explaining why youma have been attacking you?" Ranjou said after annihilating the kochou, "I heard from Kousui that you told her you came to my capital to find out if the palace really holds a ball that shines like the sun when a girl touches it. Now tell me the real reason, was it to hide from the youma, or are you really hiding from your so-called friend?"

"but I really did come here to see if the ball was real!" he said, a little panicky as was to be expected, "I promise I'm telling the truth! Please don't eat me!"

"Whoa! Hey! I'm not…" Ranjou began to say, but was physically shoved aside by Hanrin whose mothering instincts decided to kick in.

"Get away from him! You're scaring him!" she screamed at him, "No wonder I've been feeling under the weather, I was wondering when the symptoms would begin showing themselves."

"Symptoms? You're not pregnant are you?" the king asked worriedly, it was unheard of, of course, but he had to ask, he was that freaked out. There were rumors that there were some children that had been born not from ranka but from actual human pregnancies.

"And if I was? What would you do about it? Hmm? You're the only man that would dare try something it seems," she said haughtily, as she embraced Fuka who was laughing inside.

"I…I…I…" Ranjou said, "I'm sorry! I'll take responsibility!"

"You had better," she said, still holding Fuka as she stood with him, "We're going to go look for that ball now, and you are going to stay here and think of how scaring children is not what a good ruler is supposed to do."

"Y-yes ma'am," he said, and slumped to the floor, things had happened far too fast for him to follow, and so simply decided to sit and contemplate, and jump to his feet, pick up his voulge and annihilate another group of kochou that made their way to Fuka.

When they were finally out of Ranjou's earshot Hanrin directed a cold and calculating gaze at Fuka, the jig was up.

"What's the real reason you're after the ball?" she demanded an answer from him, they were alone in a room, she then grabbed a ball from what seemed to be nowhere, and it did indeed shine like the sun, "Why so interested in this ball? One of my friends died recently, but before she did, she always carried this ball around with her. Now tell me, while I abhor killing, my shirei do not."

"Ne onee-san, are you joking? I just wanted to see if its real," Fuka said, shivering slightly, because of the way Hanrin looked, the shadows cast by the light of the ball were projecting a lot of scary things in the room, some revealing some of the shirei at her disposal.

"Tell me the truth, this is your last warning," she said threateningly.

"Alright, alright," Fuka said, as if giving up, "I really came here to see the most beautiful flower in the palace, but what luck I must have to find two beauties that outshine the sun in brilliance."

"A-are you really ten?" Hanrin asked taken aback by the statement.

"That would depend on a lot of things," the kid said, "I'm an orphan, so I've been an adult for a long time."

"I see…now the real reason, while I may be flattered, I still want the real reason," she said.

"Not curious about the other flower?" he asked her.

"Fine, I'll bite," she said, "Who is the other one?"

"Kousui-chan," he replied, "She reminds of a girl I met in another life."

"Now for your real reason," she said.

"I came to retrieve the ball without fuss," Fuka said, "So can I please have it? It holds something very important to me, as well as to two friends of mine. Please?"

"What is so important about this ball?" she asked as she held it in front of her, causing Fuka's shadow to mutate and form itself into Karasu no Kurai's real shadow, upon seeing the shadow she dropped the ball which he picked up and threw into one of the shadows, "What are you?" she asked in fear for her very existence, she had heard of some of the exaggerated rumors about Karasu no Kurai, and the silence on Tentei's end of her divine connection with him one that all kirin supposedly had, was silent.

"I am Fuka, Karasu no Fuka," he replied, "I am in the employ of Karasu no Kurai. I was told to retrieve the ball of light, as within it is a piece of power that must be reunited with the whole. It is also the piece that made Ranjou neglect you somewhat over your friend."

"Then you really are not ten," she said.

"Well, I wouldn't really say that," he said, "I look ten don't I? Just because I don't talk or act like a ten year old doesn't mean that I'm not one. You'll never really know. Now that I have the ball, I shall take my leave, and take the youma that hunger for me with me."

"I see," she said, "I guess I can't have my shirei eat you then. But I must ask you to leave, since your mission has been completed. I won't tell Ranjou-sama about your mission, only that you had to leave."

"You won't need to tell him anything," Fuka said, "He along with everyone else in the palace will see me leave. If you hurry you will too," his form then melted into the shadows, he switched himself with a double of himself, a clone of shadows, once he got the ball that held within it Beauty.

She didn't really know what he had planned, but she did know that whatever it was it was going to be grand, something not to be missed for whatever reason. She rushed out of the room, and out into the garden, where soldiers, and the ruler, along with the other inhabitants of the palace were busily fighting against a literal horde of youma intent on Fuka who had appeared by the railing of the palace, the one overlooking the sea.

She immediately sent her shirei into battle knowing that the soldiers and her master would be able to breathe easier with her shirei fighting alongside them. She was a bit worried about Fuka's parting words to her. Then she noticed him by the railing, he was practically standing on them.

"You want me? Come and get me!" he shouted as he jumped over the edge, the youma disengaging from their opponents all of them plunging over the edge after him. When Hanrin and Kousui reached the railing all the saw was a jyouyou devour all the youma in one bite, they failed to noticed Fuka vanish through a shoku.

"He…jumped…" Ranjou said, "He was a guest at my palace, and he…I am a disgrace…"

"He knew it was himself they were after," Hanrin tried to comfort her distraught master, "I learned some things from him, he was not a normal child. Yes the youma were after him, he knew it, with what he has done he has rid us of a lot of youma. You should be thankful to him."

"He jumped," Ranjou said, "What did he tell you? I know he was clearly not an ordinary boy."

"What he told me was between the two of us," she said, "I shall not willingly tell you of it. But I guess I can tell you that he really was after the ball."

"We really have such a ball?" he asked her.

"We did," she replied, "He tossed it into shadows, and it vanished. Tentei-sama was silent to me, as if turning a blind eye to the events that happened between us. It is better this way."

"If you say so," he said, "I trust you."

#

Fuka reappeared within his home, where he quickly changed himself back into Kurai. He needed to prepare for the invasion force headed Tai's way, he immediately sent a letter to Gyoubou informing him of what needed to be done.

The reply he received was a confirmation letter that the armies of Tai were being mobilized and the borders were quickly being fortified against any attack, with all loyal soldiers of Tai equipped with youma slaying weapons. The warlords of the land continued to wage war against one another, not batting an eyelash at the mobilization of the armies not under their control, or that the people that were supposed to be under their protection were beginning to disappear from their homes, the populace of the continent kingdom were heading for underground shelters manned by Kurai's servants, the ravens keeping watch for the invading force as the people went into hiding.

All the food that he had consumed in one day was changed into power, into magic, into something that he could use, bolstering his already nigh limitless stores of energy. He also prepared himself for the battles ahead, he already had one of the three remaining pieces, two more were left in the world, one was buried deep underneath a farmland in Sou, and the other was constantly on the move, hidden in on one of the mobile homes of the traveling performers.

"Aiko," Kurai said as he approached her.

"How may I help you, master," she said.

"With Eiko not with us," Kurai said, "You are in charge of the field medics," he then walked off, and stopped to talk with Fugen, "I leave you in charge of Aiko's safety."

"Hai," Fugen said, "I shall make sure that no harm comes to her, or the rest of the medics."

"Good," Kurai said, then walked off, and away. He took to the skies, followed by a murder of kochou, and an unkindness of ravens, the ravens pouring out of his body in waves, filling the sky with their black feathers.

From all over the world, his ravens flew off and into shoku to join the main force of ravens that were following Kurai in his harpy form, they were heading off to battle. The other nations knew something was wrong once the ravens began taking flight into the sky and vanishing, even the one that Kurai had left for the old lady and little girl to use to contact him in case something important happened.

The calm over the world had to end, and as it was ending the skies above Tai filled with the black feathers of the ravens, while the area above the surrounding waters and the waters themselves began to be covered in a different darkness, a massive army of youma gathered around the continent kingdom. The numbers were daunting for the soldiers of Tai, but they held their ground even as they watched the approach of the legions upon legions of monster approach their home. They would have felt more confident if they had their king with them, but all they had was a man that could do things that no other man could do. They guessed that was better than anything, they had their regent with them as well, so that was better than nothing.

There was a standstill at the field of battle, neither of the two sides moved from where they had decided was the border of their side of the field. All manner of youma surrounded the defenders, they were literally cut off from the rest of the world. Tentei was blind to the happenings of Tai, as he had more important things to worry about, such as a heavenly army in black uniforms deciding to attack his own army. There appeared to be no leader, and the loyalty that the soldiers showed was too strong for the identity of the rebel to be found out.

The coup in the Heavens caused the gods to quarrel and bicker with one another, as their armies clashed with one another. Koutei's plan was going better than he had expected, but while the part in heaven was going according to plan, there still was the possible monkey wrench that was Kurai.

The standstill could not last, but who was to make the first move, no one on either side knew.

"What happens now?" Gyoubou asked his friend, he was riding Hyakko, "Neither side looks willing to start the fighting, and some say the one who starts the battle will lose."

"Tch," Kurai said, and shifted into his animagus form, then took a step forward, then all hell broke loose over the battlefield, "Fate is for losers."

The archers took aim and fired at will, there were more than enough arrows to block out the sun. The fighting was not just below the sea in the sky, but also above it, the fighting there was being done by Kurai as well, he had Orochi up above with him, along with a few mounted soldiers, and a clone of himself in the form of Kasumi, a bit distracting for his allies, but they still chose to defend their home over ogling the chick.

'_Things would be a whole lot easier if the ruler of Tai and his kirin were here, but no…they had to get sent to dreamland, leaving me here, at least I'm not neglecting my own lands entirely, what with my ravens keeping watch on Hou,_' Kurai thought as he did magical and physical damage against the enemy, now was not the time to tame some new servants. It was a time for battle.

He was the sole kirin on the battlefield not that the youma didn't really care much about him, only the decimation of the Tai forces. There would be no reinforcements as the warlords continued to battle amongst one another within the kingdom.

While the youma numbers didn't seem to end, a number of the defenders had begun to drop out of the sky, leaving the field medics to rush in and save them before it was too late for anything to be done for them. The archers had long since abandoned their bows in favor of their swords, spears, and assortment of other short to mid range weapons.

Kurai didn't know how long he had been battling, all he knew was that while the battle waged, the eyes of the leader of the invading force were focused on the battle. So he split his core self one more time, this time bringing out Fuka whose job was the acquisition of the remaining two pieces of kirin power that remained in the world. A shoku then appeared, a small one, that swallowed up Fuka sending him to Sou, while Kurai, and the rest kept the invading army at bay.

He was stalling for time, time that the world needed to survive. He noticed that Tentei's eyes were elsewhere, as he was sure that the god would not allow such a massacre that was taking place to take place, had he been available to aid in the battle.

"*"

When Fuka exited the shoku, and after watching it disappear, he changed his clothes to make him look a little bit more decent, not well off, but decent, like a regular child in times of peace. While it provided comfort, it was also something he would use for stealth, hiding in plain sight and all that.

His present problem was that what he needed was under the soil, not in some underground cave, but simple soil, farmland. But of course, it was not just any farmland, but the land which the king of Sou used to plant and harvest from back before he became king.

As he entered the capital, as that was the best place to gain some information when it concerned the ruler of the country, he found out that for once it was not one of his best ideas, as the people there gave different answers, and the hall of records otherwise known as the country archives did not give out such information to just about anyone, not even an inquiring child.

So he did the only thing that came to mind, again, he snuck into the palace way above the capital city, it was no longer a time of peace, even though most of the world didn't know it.

Security wasn't as tight as one would expect since it was a palace, but it was rather lax, and he didn't really have to sneak in as he thought he would. The guards thought that he was with one of the groups of civilians that had come to seek an audience with the king, he was a kid so they thought that he had gotten separated from his parents, as children sometimes did.

He was brought to the throne room, which also served as the reception area where the ruler met with his people, it was also where Sourin glared at the ruler for his informal behavior. They indeed seemed the perfect example of balance, as they were complete opposites of one another. Sou-o was a carefree man who cared very little for formalities as he had been a mere farmer before becoming a king, while Sourin was well, the opposite. They were each other's balance, they were yin and yang to one another.

Once among the crowd of visitors, he slipped away from them, he didn't dare bring the container of the kirin power with him, as it served as added protection to the defenders of Tai against the invading force. But even without it, finding the object which held the Balance piece would be easier since he had the information he gleamed from Asen's mind.

He pulled up a mask to cover the lower part of his face, and tucked in his clothes, his shirt into his pants, and his sleeves into gloves. He looked every bit the ninja that he really wasn't. He slipped into the shadows as he could do, and searched for piece of Balance, he was sure that the way to find the piece was in the room, he just had to figure out where he it, until the answer struck him like a ton of bricks.

The King was the key. Surely the former farmer would remember where his little piece of land used to be.

By the time that the adults were done with their speaking with the king, there was a call for anyone else that wished to speak, so he lowered his mask, and stepped forward.

"So, how can I help you today, young man?" Sou-o asked Fuka, who knelt in front of the throne as he was supposed to, since he wasn't a recognized ruler himself, his own people didn't even know of his existence yet, and his kirin was still MIA.

"I just wanted to know where you used to work, your majesty," Fuka simply said.

"Sourin," Sou-o said, "Would you mind showing him? It's not like you'll let me venture out into the world to revisit my former home."

"As you wish," she said, and beckoned Fuka to her, and led him out.

She led him out of the palace, and summoned one of her shirei, and had him ride in front of her. The trip only took a few minutes. Once they got there, it looked to be the only patch of land that had nothing growing in it for some reason. So he asked her why it was the way it was.

She explained that she herself did not know, not that she knew much about farming, but there was supposedly something in the soil that didn't want anything to grow, no matter how much the farmers toiled away.

"Oh," he said, "That's good to know."

"Huh? Why is that a good thing?" she asked him, a little confused, "How is the inability to grow food a good thing?"

"Oh…I wasn't really thinking about that part," Fuka said as he walked into the soil, submerging half of his body into the soil, a feat which puzzled his companion once again, "I was looking for something that could do this. Thanks for bringing me here."

"You're…uh…welcome?" she said unsure of herself at the moment, and puzzled as to why a child would be looking for something that would cause things to not be able to grow, so she asked, "Why are you looking for something that can do this?"

"I need it for a friend," he said as he searched the soil for the piece, which was an orb that looked like a yin yang symbol no matter how one looked at it.

"Can you tell me how you submerged part of yourself into the soil so fast?" she asked him, she was too curious and puzzled to be bother being all business.

"It's just something that I can do," he said, before diving into the soil, and coming up a minute or two later with the orb in one hand, and a worm sticking out of his mouth, "Found it!"

As soon as he said that, the soil around him sprouted all the plants that had been refused growth for so long, it was like a forest of crops had suddenly burst from the ground, fully grown. He stood, while still holding the orb, on the branch of a tree whose seed had probably been planted accidentally by a bird, a tree which he found out was a weeping willow, he was glad that it was not the kind that could hurt him like hell, like the one at Hogwarts that wrecked his broom.

"Oh my," Sourin gasped as she gazed at the forest of crops that suddenly sprouted out of the ground, a feat which attracted the attention of all the farmers around the plot of land.

"Thanks for the help onee-san!" Fuka said, as he jumped up into the air, only to be devoured by what looked like a jyouyou, but was really an illusion placed over a shoku that would take him to his next destination, which was En.

It was too much for Sourin so she fainted, leaving the farmers to call for aid from the nearest outpost. She had been the only one to see him swallowed up by the illusionary jyouyou.

"*"

He was spat out of his own shoku right in the middle of one of the gardens of the royal palace of En, and right smack dab in front of Enki, which was a slightly bad thing as he didn't want to get caught with what he was going to go and do.

'_Why do I keep ending up with kirin, none of them mine?_' he wondered to himself, as he picked himself up off of the ground, and got into a fighting stance, and bringing out his dagger of healing.

"Whoa there," Enki said, "I don't know what happened to you, but I don't want to hurt you."

"I know that, but you are clueless as to why I am here," Fuka said, "I'll tell you kirin of En. I am here to retrieve something that does not belong with the group of traveling entertainers. They lost one of their number in an ambush by bandits in another country, that member had a clear orb on his person, it showed him what the people of wherever they were wanted them to perform."

"How did you manage traveling through a shoku?" Enki asked, "As far as I know only kirin are able to use them, along with one other."

"How I managed to get here doesn't matter," Fuka said, "All that matters is that either you promise not to inform your master of my arrival or presence, or I kill you, ending your master's peaceful reign, and believe me, the wrath of Tentei is the least of my worries."

"Uh…s-sure," Enki said as he felt the healing blade against his throat all of a sudden, "I promise not to tell En-o about your arrival."

"Good," Fuka said, "I'm Fuka by the way, see you," he then back flipped away and over the railing, sending him falling into the sea, where Enki doubted that the insane kid would survive such a fall.

After getting passed the water, he formed another shoku to take him to the ground, once on dry land, he asked some people where he could find the nomads since he wanted to watch the show. The people he asked pointed him in the direction of the performers.

When he got there, he reapplied his mask, and went about drifting from shadow to shadow feeling out the familiar power, the one that the one piece with him was pulling himself nearer and nearer to. He ended up in front of the leader of the nomads, though hidden in shadow, it appeared as if he had been expected.

"I know you are there, show yourself young thief," the nomad said.

"I'll be taking this back to its rightful owner now," Fuka said appearing and grabbing the orb, which pulsed as it was reunited with one of its fellow pieces, "I hope we don't cross paths again, as I don't know how you would react, ja ne!"

He then fell back into the shadow from whence he came out of, surprising the nomad that the thief had gotten away with the biggest money making tool that they had at their disposal. But since the boy said that he was taking it back, then that meant that it could not be helped after all, since the orb always for some reason, told of events as they would happen.

The elderly nomad, thought back to what the orb had revealed, and that was a ruler of Hou ascending the throne, and ruling, as well as being a pain in Tentei's ass for a very long time.


	25. Chapter 25

Disclaimer (1): This is a fan written work based on the works of J.K. Rowling. It might possibly also have some elements of a number of other works. There is no money being made from this, it is merely a work meant for the entertainment of myself and the masses. This is merely for fun, and no profit. I repeat: I am not making any money out of writing this.

Disclaimer (2): I also do not own anything that has to do with Juuni Kokki, Juuni Kokuki, Record of the Twelve Kingdoms, The Twelve Kingdoms. The only things that will probably be mine to claim are some of the names that will appear in the fic.

Warning: OCs OOCs Sues, and some crack. You have been warned.

Note 1: Post-DH Disclaimer (2) anime/novel Crossover

Legend: # denotes change of time, while "*" denotes change of scene/perception/POV/center of attention/small change in time

**CHANGE**

**Chapter Twenty-Five**

Kikai and Eiko were not having a good time, they had heard of a most recent murder. Two adults had died of the strangest and most gruesome of circumstances, as if they had been eaten alive within the safety of their own home by monsters from another world, or so the news described it as such. There was also the fact that the compass that they were given had shattered, meaning that their only manner of finding their target had vanished.

Things were definitely not going well for them, but on the brighter side, they managed to get a list of the people that had stopped coming to the university for a time. One name stuck out, Takasato Kaname, it was the Takasato part that caught their attention as that was the same surname as the couple that had been murdered brutally. It was possible that the young man had done the killing himself, of they were dealing with crazed shirei.

Before they could investigate, they heard some people clamoring about Kaname being brought to the hospital, it was as if he was suffering, he was in agonizing pain, and was praying for either the pain to end or for himself to die.

So they rushed to the hospital knowing that there was soon to be a bloodbath there. The shirei would not harm their master, but Kikai and Eiko were sure that they would start killing people soon, oh so very soon. In fact, the duo managed to arrive just as the crazed shirei began to dissect the doctors and nurses, and other patrons in the emergency room.

"I somehow wish that we had back-up," Kikai said as he prepared for battle, who cares if they were seen, the magical world would do the covering up for them, and by the time that those people arrived they would be back in Junni Kokki.

"Well we don't so we'll just have to make do," Eiko said, and summoned some flames to cover her form, as she changed into her bakeneko form, Kikai following turning into his lamia form.

"You find the kid, I'll take on the two beasts," Kikai said authoratively then engaged the two beasts with tail, claws, and magic.

Eiko sprinted into the building, and went about searching for the young man that was supposedly in pain. It took her awhile but soon realized that if a door had blood splattered on it, then that meant that the inhabitant was dead, so she skipped those doors until she reached an operating room, inside she found not a single surgeon, but the young man on the operating table groaning in agony.

She then changed into her human form, and rushed to the side of the table, and lifted the suffering young man, and made to leave the room, and head back to Kikai, but was stopped when the floor beneath her fell out from under her. The battle between monsters was truly disastrous as the building itself was falling apart, and she was sure that both the magical and non-magical world would be crossing paths due to the mess that Kikai was creating as he tried to hold onto the two shirei, as well as catch her with his tail.

"Get us home!" Eiko screamed, "I can feel his lifeforce leave him!"

"I'm on it hime!" Kikai shouted back as he summoned up a shoku above them, which then pulled them into the world of the Twelve Kingdoms, forcing the two worlds' times to synchronize for a moment.

#

Fuka landed back in Tai, amidst the fighting, and so lent he fighters his own strength, he ended up on the ground, and so began acting like an assassin striking from within the shadows, shadows which could also be found underwater.

The three forms of Kurai were spread out round the kingdom, holding back the enemy, until something could be done about their relentless fighting, the sheer number of attacking youma were staggering and it was a wonder that the other nations had not seen or simply sensed them.

Then he sensed it, the arrival of his subordinates and their mission arrive safely back in his home away from Hou. They had found him, and it had taken months, but they had found him, right on time too, as Fuka arrived with the remaining two pieces.

"Gyoubou! Can I leave the battle to you?" Kurai called out, "I need to be elsewhere!"

"We'll be fine!" Gyoubou shouted back as he impaled a youma in the head with his poleax, "I'm sure it's more important! We can handle it from here!"

It was more or less the same thing that the other generals in the other places where Kurai was present in said, and so he withdrew from the battlefield, leaving his ravens behind, he could now create more, but he felt that he needed what power he had left for the battles ahead.

He teleported himself away to his home, his tree house for that matter, where laying in his bed was Taiki, no blood gushing out of him, but he was still writhing in pain, as Kikai managed to stun and bind the two shirei finally, and left them within a steel cage at the base of the tree.

"I take it there was a battle," Kurai said, as he merged with his two other forms.

"There was, a blood bath to be exact almost a whole hospital before we managed to leave," Eiko replied, "There was blood everywhere, coating the floor, walls, and ceiling, and then some. It was only through coincidence that we managed to get to him in time. I mean, we did, get to him in time, didn't we?"

"You did, so long as he still lives you arrived at the right time, or rather just in time," Kurai said, "Leave us, and tell Kikai to summon a shoku to the cave where Gyousou is being kept, his people need him, as I fear that Tentei is unable to do battle so to speak."

"Hai," Eiko said as she joined Kikai in guarding the stunned, bound, and caged, shirei at the base of the tree.

Kurai changed into his animagus form and absorbed the kirin's power into himself, or rather into his horn, as he prepared to do a quick purification, healing, and restoration of power, on Taiki, which should also affect his shirei, hopefully.

'_Horn to horn, much like wand to wand, hope this works,_' Kurai thought to himself as he walked up to the tortured form on his own bed, and touched his razor sharp horn to the forehead of the kirin of Tai, and willing the power to flow forth into the kirin, while at the same time performing the purification of the kirin by pulling out the anti-thesis of the kirin from within the kirin. It was through their physical connection, and right before the ritual was completed that he knew what his next objective was to be. He was going to go help Tentei, then annoy him to no end, some Supreme Being he turned out to be, but what did he know, he was just Karasu no Kurai, soon to be savior of the world…again.

Once he was done, he jumped down from his room, still in kirin form…

"He should wake soon," Kurai informed his two subordinates, "Explain to him what has happened, answer what questions he may have within reason of course, then lead him to revive the sleeping king, and have them join the battle, the Tai forces need the presence of their king, Gyoubou can do only so much."

"We understand sir," the two servants said, then Kikai asked, "What of the shirei?"

"Let them out, I shall deal with them," Kurai said, once they were out, but still unconscious, he repeated the purification ritual using his horn on the two forms, before he summoned up a shoku for himself to use, "I shall be going off to battle, pray that I return just as I am, and not some lazy god's replacement."

"See you later," Kikai said, "…Harry."

"Don't call me that," Kurai said, "It's Kurai, remember it," he then leapt into the shoku that closed up as soon as he jumped through.

"Why'd you call him that?" Eiko asked.

"No reason," Kikai said, pretending to inspect his nails, "No reason at all."

"Somehow, I don't believe you," she said.

#

Upon exiting the shoku, Kurai was forced to shift into his human form and draw out his killing blade, as well as his healing blade. His sword he used to end the lives, immortal or not, while it was sheathed in the emerald flames of death, while he used his healing dagger as a shield, as well as to perform some first aid on those that looked and felt like being on Tentei's side.

He needed to reach the god, the supreme ruler of the world and reality, he had a feeling like he would get his answers there, one way or another. There was just so many things wrong with an army battling against an unknown foe, both without their leaders coordinating attacks and movements. There was no real defense or offense, everything was simply chaos.

He hacked and slashed his way through the mass of fighting forms, and made his way to the central structure of the city they were fighting in. Indeed the flames of war did not keep themselves in the open space s of the fields beyond the walled capital city and seat of power of the gods. There was fighting in the streets, and many of the civilian members of the immortals in heaven had been forced to flee deeper into the city, into the equivalent of the Forbidden City in China, the place where the all powerful Tentei resided with his court.

He made his way, hacking and slashing away, and blocking with his dagger, no matter how small the cut, or even simple a scrape, all his enemies fell to his blade infused with the power of death, a power that now hummed with a bit of familial familiarity for some reason.

There were already many bodies of the defenders of the central structure of the city on the ground, but there were still a number fighting to keep the fighting from spreading into the only remaining safe place in all of heaven. It was not a nice sight to behold, but it was still the sight that greeted Kurai as he made his way through the invading army and slipping through the defenders. He raised up some magical barriers around the central structure, it would only last for a few minutes, but that was enough time to give the defenders a breather. They needed their strength, immortal or not, to continue doing their jobs, even without the guidance of their Lord and Master.

He passed by the many refugees from the city inside the inner city, so many fearful and confused faces, apparently Tentei really didn't want anyone to worry about the situation in the more mortal of the realms, but his handling of the situation appeared as a double edged sword one that was cutting him at the moment which was apparent on the faces of the residents of his realm, of his home. They were mostly women and children, with a few men, ones that Kurai personally viewed as cowards as they simply cowered with the rest of the populace behind the ring of soldiers holding the enemy back.

When he finally entered the deeper sections of the inner city, he found himself faced with the verbal arguing of the gods of the world he now lived in, and loved as much or even more than his old world. They were bickering and not minding him, as if not caring about the battling forces beyond their walls, and within their capital city. At the end of the hall which he had entered he found Tentei sitting, his eyes darting here and there as if searching for missing persons or trying to determine whose army it was that was fighting outside in his city.

Kurai decided to approach the lord and master of the realm, and of the world for that matter, discreetly. He was sure that many of these gods, of these immortals knew his face, one which he was forced to hide beneath a mask, a disguise that made him look like his Fuka ninja form, but older. He slipped off into a shadow and split himself into three, his core Kurai, Fuka, and Kasumi. He decided to do the split in order to watch the entire hall from two separate angles, while his Fuka, a relatively unknown form made his way to Tentei.

Kasumi was dressed as a kunoichi, in dark blue garments and not black, she made her way to the ceiling and concealed her presence with magic, the gods would not mind her even had she not used such a precaution against detection, they were far too busy arguing amongst themselves, and Tentei was focusing all of his undivided attention on his task of locating the one that dared to go against him.

Tentei was startled to find a ten-year-old kid that looked eerily like a ninja kneeling before him. He was about to speak, but when the ten-year-old noticed he had the god's attention, he kept silent. He knew that the kid was out of place among the gods, all of whom, or most of whom were adults. He tensed up slightly as well, in-case the kid was an assassin sent by whoever was behind the recent problems in his world, excluding Kurai as the cause for that particular anomaly was known, and was greater than even Tentei himself.

"_We have a strong suspicion as to the mastermind behind all the trouble,_" Fuka whispered in such a way that Tentei alone could hear him, "_We have stumbled upon some clues, and made a theory that the mastermind must be Koutei, as he is a powerful force in the world of Junni Kokki, and has been empowered by the many prayers to him from the people. His forces are, as we speak, engaged with not only your own, but of Tai's as well._"

Tentei nodded his head, and used sign language to speak –"This is news to me, but I suspected it as a possibility as well, many are dissatisfied with the way I've run things. I guess the prayers must have gone to his head. Tell me, is he in this room?"-

"_We sense his presence, but it is concealed against our eyes. He is waiting for the perfect time to strike, as all the other gods whose identities have become known to us are busy fighting amongst themselves as their armies as well have engaged against one another's, all at the manipulations of one that would overthrow you,_" Fuka spoke in whisper, "_There are three of us in the room, we are your reinforcements against this foe, why should you soil your hands with dealing with this wayward god, when you have three able bodied heroes at your beck and call this day._"

-"I will leave my defense in your capable hands then"- Tentei discreetly signed –"Who are you by the way, I am unable to detect your own identity as if a barrier was put up around you to defend you against even I who you wish to aid"-

"_We shall reveal ourselves after this mess has been dealt with,_" Fuka replied, before slipping into a shadow to lie in wait for the real assassin, "_Though we wish to gain a promise from you,_" he spoke from the shadows to the direct right of Tentei.

-"What is it?"- Tentei said, -"If you manage to defend me this day, I shall grant it if it is within my power."-

"_We ask that you offer not a position in your court to us, once we succeed in aiding you in this purge and defense of your realms, we have enough on our plate as it is,_" Fuka replied.

As Fuka waited in the shadows and Kasumi watched from the ceiling, Kurai made his way through the crowd, placing a delayed spell on the immortals, one that would render them unconscious once Tentei and himself engaged the assassin ready to pounce, but found Tentei to be far too observant to catch off guard at the moment. The assassin needed a signal of sorts to tell him that victory was within his grasp.

That signal came in the form of an explosion from outside of the inner courts, the walls of the Forbidden City had been breached, and so proved to be a pleasant distraction, as it even called the attention of Tentei.

Koutei struck from out of the shadows himself, like a shirei coming forth to do the bidding of his master, he rushed with a serrated blade in hand poised to strike the Lord of Heaven, from which all spawned. While he thought that all the eyes and senses of the hall were distracted, he forgot to take into account the presence or possible presence of Kurai in the hall. He thought that the attack on Tai would serve as a suitable diversion for the demigod in power.

Fuka managed to block the blade with his forearms that were protected by a kind of armor that covered his arms, and pushed back the attacker. It was the requirement for the delayed spell to ignite and affect those that they were set to affect, the gods dropped to the ground rendered unconscious by the only wizard in the group.

"You were prepared after all," Koutei said, he was a monstrosity as compared to the beautiful man that he was supposed to be, he had been deformed by his actions of late, and by his greed and thirst for power, and wish to end the world as it was and create a new one from its ashes. He looked like a man and a monster combined, all of the wild youma in the world forming the body of the god, fallen as he was presently, "I'm impressed, for such a lazy god, you came prepared for once."

"Since there are no other witnesses to our meeting like this, I will be truthful with you," Tentei said not rising from his throne, "I was not prepared for an assassination, it was thanks to this little one that I was saved from having to fight you directly.", "I'm impressed, for such a lazy god, you came prepared for once."

"Since there are no other witnesses to our meeting like this, I will be truthful with you," Tentei said not rising from his throne, "I was not prepared for an assassination, it was thanks to this little one that I was saved from having to fight you directly."

"Then that proves that you are indeed weak, too weak to rule, and too irresponsible as well," Koutei said, "Since my armies are attacking one of your precious kingdoms, and once the populace has submitted to their fate, my armies shall move on to the other eleven, until the world has turned to ash, and I have taken your power for myself, and remake everything."

"You shall fail in that endeavor," Kasumi made her presence known, by dropped down and attempting to deliver a heel drop to Koutei, but missing as her words gave her attack away, "I might have missed, but we are here to stop you."

"Not one but two of them," Koutei said, "The three of you against one of me? I guess, it is only fair since I am marginally stronger than you, even you Tentei are no match for me, as the people of Tai empower me with their belief that I will save them, and not you."

"See to your forces, you annoying god," Kurai said, making himself known, standing at the foot of the steps leading up to the throne, where Fuka, Kasumi, Tentei, and Koutei were standing, "Leave this bastard to us."

"Go right ahead," Tentei said, as he stood from his throne, "I'd wish you luck, but a part of me wishes that this battle will kill you."

"Whatever," Kurai said as he stowed away his healing dagger, and held his sword in front of him pointing it at Koutei, "I will end you, in the name of all those that you have caused pain and suffering. The gods are not meant to directly interfere with the lives of the mortal world, even Tentei does not interfere unless it has something to do with him or the Mandate or Will of Heaven, which in a sense is directly related to him. Everything that happens down below is automatic, everything is balanced out in some way, everything happens for a reason, but some of those reasons, like yours, are shit."

"Are you done talking yet?" Koutei said, "I'm getting bored, and I've got a god to kill, along with several others now that I think about it."

"I'm done," Kurai said, as he launched himself at the god, while Kasumi pulled out a pair of butterfly swords, while Fuka pulled out a sai and a dagger, and then they too launched themselves at the god.

Fuka struck low, Kasumi struck high, and Kurai took the mid level of the god. He was a quick fiend, one with many abilities, so he used those abilities. He flooded the room with his impressive aura, his will, and his power, expecting his three assailants to falter. He was momentarily stunned when they simply continued with their synchronized attack in a manner that was only possible if the people involved only had one mind.

Kasumi attacked quickly, her swords moving like a butterfly in motion, fluid with grace, but quick at the same time. Koutei did his best to dodge out of the way, as he was no longer sure that he could defeat these new foes, new to him as he focused on Tentei and Kurai, but not enough it seemed. Her blades sand a song of sorrow as they passed mere inches away from his neck, while Fuka struck with his sai intending to impale Koutei on it. He did manage to hit the god, but failed to penetrate the armor like skin, it was harder than steel, possibly the hide of one of the tougher youma.

Kurai jumped back suddenly to analyze the situation, he let his two of the parts distract the god while his core self tried to find a weakness in the god before him. Then a voice he had not heard in a long while whispered into his mind, filling his thoughts with images of another much like him, and in a similar situation as he was presently in.

'_You seek a weakness, here I can help you,_' came the whispered words of Crius, '_See the memories that I have sent you? They are of one of your many cousins. One that had suffered, then unlocked a darker part of himself, and became the one now known as the Devil himself. He like you battles immortals, greater, lesser, or simply gods. He wages war on the immortals of On High, seeking to take the Golden Throne, yet, he is mortal._'

'_How is that possible, I am immortal myself, and I find what I am doing to be ridiculous, yet I must try,_' Kurai thought back, '_Potters and our saving people thing huh._'

'_Devil has that too, even though he is the source of sin. His reason for fighting against impossible odds matters not,_' Crius spoke, '_What matters is that he fears not the outcome, are you not a Master of Death? Or have you forgotten one of your stations and titles of your past life as Harry Potter? While a past life, you still remain Harry Potter._'

'_What does being Harry Potter have to do with my current situation?_' Kurai asked, confused, which partly lead to Fuka being flung to the side only to get back on his feet and charge the god again, he and Kasumi raining relentless blows regardless of whether or not they hit their mark.

'_It appears that some part of you remembers, what is your reason for fighting? You've fought ones that have cheated death before, is immortality not a way to cheat death? Death does not like to be fooled, cheated, or manipulated,_' Crius spoke, as images of the anthropomorphic personification of death or Death himself flashed through Kurai's mind, '_You Potters dislike false authority, dislike being used, and have a fondness for creating your own destinies. You are even more powerful than Devil in the sense that you are immortal yourself in a manner of speaking, you even hold the power nigh equal to Tentei himself. You are the student of not one, but two or more of the _Five_. Now why do you hold back? Why do you force yourself to be this way? Weary…tired…desperate._'

'_What are you talking about? I am not desperate,_' Kurai stated, though unconvincingly even to himself, as he knew deep down that the real reason for his backing away, even though it was simply a third of himself, was because he feared to lose, he doubted himself.

'_Are you sure? I sense fear in you, I sense doubt in you, these are not he qualities I would look for in a ruler, in a king, in a savior of the world,_' Crius spoke, then images of Kurai's own past flew through his mind, they were from the perspective of an onlooker, '_Where is the King of Hou? Where is Hou-o? Where is the legendary Karasu no Kurai that battled against the mighty Will of Heaven? The very same Karasu no Kurai that cares not for Fate or Destiny, or the proper way of doing things?_'

"I…" Kurai began to say, '_I…I am here…you're right. I'm over thinking things. I'm not the kind of guy that's supposed to do such things, especially during a battle. I don't analyze, I simply do. I no longer care for authority, I care not for death…_'

"Letting your underlings battle for you? You think these mere toys will manage to tire me out for you to strike the killing blow?" Koutei asked as he managed to slam Kasumi into a wall with a cluster of tentacles that shot out of his side, a minotaur's foot slamming Fuka into the ground before kicking him painfully away, "I'm done playing, it's time to get serious, I find you boring, you no longer amuse me. Therefore it is time to die."

'_Thanks Crius, thanks for the wake-up call,_' Kurai told the leader of the _Five_, he knew that his teacher had heard him even though his presence had already left his mind, "I am Karasu no Kurai."

"Is that supposed to mean something to me? You've already proven how much of a coward you are, staying back while your minions fought me bravely, but sadly were not good enough to even graze me with their pitiful attacks," Koutei then shoved bone spikes and horns through Kurai's two other forms, if they were different people they would have died instantly, "See, I have granted them a quick death for their bravery, a quick death not that it really matters as no one shall remember them."

"I beg to differ," Kurai said confidently, as the two bodies turned into blood which sped their way to his feet, remerging with his core self, "I am Karasu no Kurai, chosen master of Hourin, and I shall defeat you, I shall win."

"A king going against heaven, Tentei dislikes you greatly," Koutei said, "I am beginning to see why as well, though my dislike for one as arrogant and prideful as you is greater than that pitiful excuse of a caring god. What makes you so confident that you can defeat me?"

"I shall win, for I must win," Kurai stated as he reabsorbed his sword, and those of his two other forms, "That is the only outcome I shall accept," he then had his horn grow out of the middle of his forehead, raising his hand to it, he snapped it off. Koutei thought that Kurai had finally gone over the deep end, for snapping a kirin's horn was how Asen managed to steal away Taiki's power.

"It looks like I might have to give you a swift death," Koutei said, preparing to launch a deadly attack, "I know for a fact that insane beings tend to be unpredictable, even more so than desperate ones."

"Prepare to lose," Kurai said, as he reversed his grip on his horn, and also causing his hand to drip blood.

"I must admit that you were a worthy opponent," Koutei said before launching all manner of sharp and pointy body part that he could think of at Kurai who simply held his horn in front of him as his blood dripped to the floor.

"I can't say the same about you," Kurai said, his horn lengthening into a single long blade, one as long as a bo staff but remained a blade that cut into his palms as he held the thing in preparation for his own attack.

At the last moment, just as the frontal attack, the killing blow, as Koutei thought it was, was about to connect, Kurai vanished from the spot reappearing behind the god with dreams of world domination, the only indication and warning that the god had of Kurai's movement and survival, and attack, were two loud cracks, like thunder and lightning but louder.

Koutei spun around with one swift motion, only for his head to come flying off, just as Kurai ended the spin of his elongated horn, one which should have also cut his hands off with the spin that he made it perform.

"Well…that was new," Kurai said to himself, "I didn't expect something like that to work."

"It's a good thing that it didn't," Koutei's voice caused Kurai to spin around and get hit in the face by a punch worthy of a Machamp, which send him careening into and through a wall, and another wall, then finally into the courtyard beyond. Koutei following quickly, his severed head melting into a puddle of goo, it was a hinman trick which he too pulled at the last second.

When Koutei arrived, he was greeted by Kurai's weapon splitting him into two pieces, then four, then eight, then sixteen, and so on and so forth, as Kurai's weapon acted more like a meat grinder and a buzz saw combined rather than a hilt-less blade. When he was done mincing the god into pieces, he decided to take a breather, but remembered to put up a barrier around himself just in case the puddle of goo was not yet beaten.

The state of the god in question was revealed when the puddle of goo moved into one pile, and moved upwards until the form of a man was solidly in its place, one that was holding in his hands a pair of Chinese broad swords. Seeing such a form, Kurai shortened his own blade, making it as short as a broad sword, but remained hilt-less.

"Is there nothing you can't do?" Kurai asked as he dropped the shield and got into a defensive stance, for he knew that he would be defending for a while, his single blade was his disadvantage, the constant pain that he inflicted upon himself was there to remind him of what was at stake, and to keep him focused on the task at hand. He was by no means a masochist, no matter how much Koutei thought that he was.

"I, unlike you, am an actual god and not some mere representation of the Will of Heaven, not that you care much for the pecking order of the world," Koutei said, "Nothing is impossible for me. Burn me and my ashes shall merge once more, attempt to drown me and I shall breath like a fish, crush me to dust and I shall become the wind and suffocate you, for even he rulers of the kingdoms need air to live."

"Do you swear on all that you are that you can do _anything_? That _anything _is possible when it comes to you?" Kurai asked.

"I swear on all that I am," Koutei said, "I also swear that you shall fall to my blade before this day is done."

"So mote it be," Kurai said as he launched himself at his foe attempting to move into offense, but just as he had predicted he was forced into the defensive by the wielder of two blades.

They each slashed, parried, and thrust, their swords at one another. A punch flying at Koutei or a kick aimed at Kurai, on occasion, none of the blows ever managing to make their mark, each one being successfully blocked by their impressive foe. Koutei actually believed that he would win, that he had seen all that Kurai was capable off, and that Kurai believed in fair play, as well as himself being able to counter anything that Kurai sent his way.

What he didn't know was that Kurai planned on fighting with everything he had, his power and will battling with Koutei's own, filling the area around them with their energies, suffocating any that would dare trespass on their space, not that any would dare, or was conscious enough to even think about it.

Kurai was fighting his foe using solely what was available and part of him. He was putting his all, his very being into the battle. Unknown to the god, Harry had one more trick up his sleeve, one more ace, one that the god was not counting on, as who in their right mind believed that they could kill, much less permanently incapacitate a god. It never entered his mind that Kurai was crazy enough, and determined enough to prove that nothing, _nothing_, was impossible.

"Hey Koutei," Kurai suddenly said between blocking a sword and ducking out of the way of the other blade just barely.

"What?" Koutei asked, trying to slice Kurai into three pieces, missing by mere millimeters.

"I'm going to hold you to your word," Kurai said, "The bit about nothing being impossible for you."

"Then you have decided to give up?" Koutei said, not letting up in his attack.

"Why don't you read my mind and find out," Kurai suggested, as he prepared his final attack.

"I think I will, thanks for the suggestion," Koutei said, thinking that Kurai was resigned to his fate, the last thing on his mind was the impossibility of what Kurai planned on doing.

"Thank Devil, Death, and I guess Magic," Kurai said, as he dusted himself off, "OUCH!" he also proceeded to bandage his hands, specifically his palms, he had a feeling that he must be related in some way with Magic as well, it wasn't that farfetched an idea, and it was true too.

He was thankful to Devil for proving that it was possible for a mere mortal, or a Lower Being to ice a Higher Being, to Death for providing the means to in a manner of speaking have his foe go swimming with cement shoes, and to Magic for providing his specialty as well as the medium through which he exacted his revenge. What did he have against Koutei, one might ask, the simple answer would be that the former god 'killed' him twice.

"Payback's a bitch isn't it," Kurai said as he sealed the body of the god into a scroll which he then reabsorbed into his body as proof of his kill, a kill which he would present to Tentei not really caring what the god did with the body of a god with no soul living in it anymore.

It took him a while to locate Tentei, since he had to wade through a sea of immortals within the Forbidden City's walls. Tentei was surrounded by his generals, speaking quickly with them, giving them orders, and the like, while his soldiers continued to do battle beyond the walls of the last safe place in all of Heaven.

"We are done with our task," Kurai said as he approached Tentei, shrugging off the soldiers that tried to stop him, "How 'bout you?"

"Finishing up now that you're done," Tentei replied, then shifted his attention back to his generals, "Change of plans, inform the rebels, that their leader, the instigator of this coup, has been dealt with. If they don't believe you, tell them that I shall send out the crows."

"Yes, my Lord!" the generals said, and marched off to the front lines, morale had been boosted and the fighting had shifted in the favor of the defenders once their Liege, Lord, and King, arrived on the scene.

"I've got the body in a scroll sealed in one of my cells," Kurai said, then produced said scroll, handed the scroll over to the god, then began to walk away.

"Kurai," Tentei said, in a way calling for the demigod in power to stop.

"What is it O' Annoyed One?" Kurai asked turning around.

"I may have promised that you would not be offered a place in my court," Tentei said, "But I said nothing about not giving you a reward for your services. And since there were three of you, I get to reward you thrice."

"Is it possible for me to decline?" Kurai asked, hoping that the reply would be a yes, as he had a feeling that the god was planning to pay him back for his annoying-ness.

"You would dare decline a reward from ME?" Tentei said, smiling mischievously.

"Well, yeah," Kurai said running a hand through his hair, "I would love to…but I have a feeling that you'll get _them _to force me into accepting, and I have a feeling that they wouldn't mind helping you with this…so what choice have I but to accept your rewards."

"The first reward is a thrice damned curse," Tentei said, "Just as I shall never fall so shall you. Fear not Death for he shall never claim you or I. We'll be bickering until eternity's end."

"I had a feeling you would do that," Kurai said, "Next?"

"I am making you the direct superior of Koutei, once I revive him, or install a new soul resembling the original that I had instilled in the body within the scroll you handed over," Tentei stated, "Yes, I did create the gods as well," it was a good thing that no one was listening in on their conversation.

"So you've given me a servant…great…I need to make sure that nothing like this happens again, nothing stems from him again…really…" Kurai whined a little, but accepted his fate.

"The third reward is that all the rebels, and fallen members of the coup are now your servants, from this day onwards, you are a general and lord and master of one of the heavenly armies," Tentei said, "Don't worry, they'll live in this realm, I doubt that their numbers would be welcome in the world of my creating," Tentei told him, "That means that should I need your army, which I doubt that I will, you shall come and serve. You said nothing about being promoted to being one of the highest ranking officers in my armies."

"I detest you sometime," Kurai said, "I accept these rewards. Thank you, your annoying-ness."

"Such disrespect, if you were anyone else, I'd have smitten you already," Tentei drawled.

"I'll be taking my leave now," Kurai said, as his form split once more into three, the other two bandaged up, while he only had his bruises covered, as well as the bandages over his palms, his horn had been returned to its rightful place on his forehead, but he did wrap a bandage over his head as well.

"Oh, you can't leave just yet," Tentei said, smirking a little, "You have yet to hear and receive my gifts for you, ones which you deserve for being so helpful these past few months and years."

"I have a feeling that my _cousins_ wouldn't be able to persuade you to not give me anything more," Kurai said.

"You should trust your feelings, they're most of the time right," Tentei said, "You ready?"

"Ready as I'll ever be," Kurai said, plopping himself on the ground, Indian sitting.

"Good," Tentei said, "My first gift to you is a choice, the choice being whether or not you want the anomalous births to continue in this world, what I mean by that is that there will be a very small possibility that children will be born through what you know as pregnancy. What is your choice? Of course the possibility of you having children while a ruler is part of the allowing that sort of thing to happen."

"I choose the anomalous births to be allowed," Kurai said, "I've always wanted a family of my own, and for my blood to continue to flow through the generations."

"Good," Tentei said, "As much as I know that it will mess with the balance of my world a bit, I'd rather control some of the chaos you cause, rather than watch such things pop up without my permission."

"Gee, thanks," Kurai said, "Next?"

"The second gift is that I shall allow you to have a harem if you wish it," Tentei said, "But there is a catch…"

"There's always a catch," Kurai said, Fuka and Kasumi had already gone on ahead to check up on the state of affairs in Tai.

"Quite," Tentei said, "You can only have those other wives, after you join with your soul mate."

"And how am I to know who my soul mate is?" Kurai questioned.

"Oh, you'll know, you'll definitely know," Tentei said, "I'm sure that you've at least got an idea."

"Yeah…I think I do," Kurai said, "Which is rather troublesome, as she is still not exactly as found as Taiki and Tai-o."

"I'm not helping you with that matter," Tentei said, "Since that information is kind of blocked from me…for some reason, only another Supreme Being has the power to do so, or one of _them_, though I doubt that they would willingly give you this hard a time."

"I had a feeling that you were going to say something to that effect," Kurai said, "And the last gift, I am assuming that there are three."

"There is one last, you are quite perceptive for someone who likes to annoy those with more power than you do," Tentei sarcastically said, "I give you the gift of free travel."

"I can freely travel you know," Kurai said, "That doesn't sound like much of a gift."

"What I mean is, that I am granting you some vacation time from your duties and this existence," Tentei said, "This is one gift that I gain nothing not even entertainment as it benefits only yourself, though I will not tell you how to go about visiting other existences. You may leave now," Tentei said, then remembered something and called out to Kurai as he was about to walk into a shoku, "You also have a house in Heaven, I hope you use it sometime, though isolated that it is."

"Thanks," Kurai said as he walked into the shoku, "It's been fun, but I've got to go."


End file.
